Physicians are receiving 57 percent more patient portal messages in their inboxes than before the pandemic, according to a Feb. 3 article on the American Medical Association website.
Bureaucratic tasks such as responding to patient portal messages could be a major contributor to burnout among physicians across the country, according to the article.
More than 60 percent of physicians reported feeling burned out in 2022, up from 38 percent in 2021. Excessive time spent working in the EHR is often cited as a key cause of burnout.
Physician burnout is causing the U.S. healthcare system $5 billion a year, according to the AMA.
The AMA said it is aiming to eliminate EHR and inbox burden in part through an inbox-reduction checklist.