Becker's Hospital Review

84 CMO / CARE DELIVERY Physician lounges are dying: How hospitals now foster connection By Erica Carbajal and Nika Schoonover P re-pandemic, hospitals' physician lounges were already desolate spaces. e effects of the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with a growing to-do list have further encroached on physicians' ability to interact with colleagues, which can exacerbate burnout. Now, hospitals are investing in other efforts to reinvigorate connection among physicians. "Individuals who are isolated or are lonely, they are more likely to have less overall wellness; more likely to experience symptoms of burnout," Marjorie Bessel, MD, chief clinical officer at Phoenix-based Banner Health, told Becker's. Studies have shown social isolation can negatively affect healthcare workers' well-being. For instance, this 2022 study shows loneliness is a significant predictor of exhaustion and disengagement. e drop in workplace interaction In a 2013 article in e Atlantic, Richard Gunderman, MD, PhD, wrote about physician lounges increasingly becoming a space where "physicians are alone." While once a hub for water cooler discussions and building relationships with colleagues, Dr. Gunderman described how lounges became sparsely attended in order to catch up on paperwork or other administrative tasks. Both a high volume of patients throughout the pandemic and more rigid infection control practices have further advanced the ghost town atmosphere in physician lounges. "Since the pandemic hit, there has been so much activity and focus on keeping everybody safe, that many of the areas that were considered congregate areas — where people would be eating and drinking without their masks on — have become and are looking very different," Dr. Bessel said. "Physicians, of course, being the scientists that they are, are still incredibly cognizant of the risks that they encounter when they're with other individuals in a close surrounding," Dr. Bessel said. Over the years, physician schedules have become more jam-packed, another factor behind a declining level of interaction. "Patient volumes, the time required to see patients — even when volumes don't increase — the complexity of medical practices, has reduced the time physicians have available to decompress, to remember that they're part of a team — a team with lots of other people that are involved," said Colin West, MD, PhD, a quantitative health sciences researcher at Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic. Medical practice is also increasingly managed electronically. "We end up being really tied to our computers. In a lot of respects, physicians — whether they're working in a hospital or clinic — [have] become office workers," Dr. West told Becker's. For every one hour physicians spend in direct clinical face-to-face time with their patients, they spend an additional two hours on electronic health record and desk work during the day, according to a 2016 study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. On top of that, physicians spend an average of nearly two hours per day on EHR tasks outside of work hours, according to a separate study published March 28 in JAMA Internal Medicine. "Telehealth-type work has certainly contributed to this isolation because, oentimes, the telehealth is occurring not in a medical building or in a medical community," Lisa Bellini, MD, senior vice dean for academic affairs at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia, told Becker's. "And so people not only didn't see their colleagues, but they didn't see their patients." e pandemic dramatically accelerated the use of telehealth. According to a 2020 analysis by the American Medical Association, the percentage of physicians who used video conferences with patients grew from 14.3 percent in 2018 to 70.3 percent in 2020. ough use of telehealth has declined since the start of the pandemic, it still is higher than before COVID-19 emerged. How systems are fostering physician connections While isolation contributes to burnout, experts say increased connection mitigates it. A Cleveland hospital employs the world's oldest practicing physician By Cailey Gleeson N eurologist Howard Tucker, MD, who turned 100 on July 10, teaches medical resi- dents at Cleveland-based St. Vincent Charity Medical Center and has held the Guinness World Record for oldest practicing physician since February 2021, Cleveland Jewish News report- ed July 8. When Dr. Tucker isn't teaching resi- dents, he takes on medical-legal ex- pert witness work. He also has four children and 10 grandchildren. Dr. Tucker said he knew he wanted to pursue medicine when he was a stu- dent in high school. He said he has witnessed many advancements in both medicine and technology over the course of his career, including the CT scan, which was not invented when he began practicing. "I have to keep doing things because I can't stand being at home," Dr. Tuck- er told Cleveland Jewish News. "As long as people accept me, I'm going to continue to practice. I enjoy my- self." n

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