Boston-based Brigham & Women’s Hospital, part of the Mass General Brigham health care system, has launched a research center with the goal of generating and disseminating evidence to improve physician well-being while improving patient care. patient.
With the support of a $1 million grant from the Physicians Foundation, the Center for Excellence in Medical Practice and Expertise will partner with health systems and experts across the United States in their work to elucidate the contributors and solutions to physician burnout.
The Center’s core team will be comprised of physicians from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and faculty from Harvard Medical School. Lisa Rotenstein, MD, MBA, will serve as director and principal investigator of the Center; David Bates, MD, will serve as key internal advisor and co-investigator; Christine Iannaccone, MPH, will serve as senior project manager; and Michelle Frits as senior data analyst.
Rotenstein’s research on the mental health of physicians and students has fostered greater awareness of the epidemic of depression and burnout among medical students and physicians, catalyzing actions to address this public health burden. As a nationally recognized expert on gender issues in medicine, the impact of the electronic health record on physicians, and the delivery of ambulatory care, she has also focused her research on identifying ways to create a health care delivery system. more effective.
“We are incredibly grateful to the Physicians Foundation for their vision and partnership, which has allowed us to launch this Center,” Rotenstein said in a statement. “We know that physician burnout has consequences for both physicians and patients. Currently, we still have an inadequate understanding of what works to simultaneously improve physician well-being and improve patient care across multiple physician types and practice settings. “Our research will seek to develop a strong evidence base on how to improve physicians’ experiences in providing care, drawing on the insights of physicians practicing in diverse clinical settings in the United States.”
Co-investigator David Bates, MD, is chief of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He has done extensive work to improve efficiency and quality, and to evaluate the adoption of health information technologies.
“Physician well-being continues to be an important focus for the Physicians Foundation, especially as we see the tremendous stress that the current state of our country and healthcare system has placed on our physicians,” said Gary Price, MD, president. of the Physicians Foundation, in a statement. “Our nation’s physicians, residents and medical students need systemic change to help improve the future of medicine. “We are delighted to collaborate with Brigham and Women’s Hospital to help deliver evidence-based solutions to improve the well-being of current and future physicians, ultimately benefiting patients around the world.”
