Patient portals are causing physician burnout, Michigan Medicine studies find

The University of Michigan conducted three studies hoping to combat primary care doctor burnout. According to a release, digital patient portal messaging is causing burnout.

The studies found that:

·       Female doctors reported more “negative or demeaning” messages from patients.

·       More female doctors attributed their burnout to patient messages.

·       Reserving workday hours to respond to messages helped, but “it did not significantly change total patient visits or billing.”

·       Working together to respond to messages helped reduce burnout.

The studies are published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.