Korea Journal of Hospital Management (한국병원경영학회지)

Korean Society of Hospital Management (한국병원경영학회)
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Effects of consultation length and the number of outpatients on physicians' occupational burnout

의사의 진찰시간과 진료환자 수가 직무소진에 미치는 영향

  • Sungje, Moon (Research Institute for Healthcare Policy, Korean Medical Association) ;
  • Jeong Hun, Park (Research Institute for Healthcare Policy, Korean Medical Association) ;
  • Jung Chan, Lee (Research Institute for Healthcare Policy, Korean Medical Association)
  • 문성제 (대한의사협회 의료정책연구소) ;
  • 박정훈 (대한의사협회 의료정책연구소) ;
  • 이정찬 (대한의사협회 의료정책연구소)
  • Received : 2022.12.06
  • Accepted : 2022.12.16
  • Published : 2022.12.30
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Abstract

Purpose: Physician's occupational burnout has been a very important issue that can cause negative consequences not only for individual's physical and mental health, but also for patient's health and the overall national healthcare system. For the reason, this study confirmed how consultation length and the number of outpatients affect physician's occupational burnout in the medical environment. Methodology: In the study, the data of '2020 Korean Physician Survey' conducted by Korean Medical Association(KMA) was used for the analysis, and a total of 4,215 physicians were selected as study samples. The differences in the degree of occupational burnout according to the physicians' general characteristics were confirmed through uni-variate analysis, and also a regression analysis was conducted to confirm the effects of consultation length and the number of outpatients on physician's occupational burnout. Findings: As a result. the overall degree of physician's occupational burnout decreased(𝛽=-0.051, p<0.01) as the consultation length increased. Specifically, the physician's emotional exhaustion increased(𝛽=0.051, p<0.01), while the reduction of accomplishment decreased(𝛽=-0.131, p<0.001). Furthermore, the overall occupational burnout decreased(𝛽=-0.047, p<0.01) as a proportion of advice and education during the consultation increased, and it had an effect on the decrease in depersonalization(𝛽=-0.045, p<0.01) and the reduction of accomplishment(𝛽=-0.065, p<0.001). At last, as the number of outpatients increased, the overall occupational burnout increased(𝛽=0.041, p<0.05) with more emotional exhaustion(𝛽=0.095, p<0.001), depersonalization(𝛽=0.065, p<0.001), and less reduction of personal achievement(𝛽=-0.081, p<0.001). Practical implication: Consequently, it is necessary to prevent physician's occupational burnout by ensuring sufficient consultation length and providing a medical environment to treat an appropriate number of patients. Therefore, national policies should expand health insurance coverage and compensate medical fees for sufficient consultation length that both patients and physicians can satisfy. It will ultimately contribute to ensuring the patients' health and improving the quality of national healthcare services.

Keywords

References

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