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The Prevalence of Burnout Among Radiologists

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Radiology is a growing and evolving field where circumstances surrounding a Radiologists day-to-day activities have become increasingly pressurized, leading to high rates of burnout.

Increased Workload

Imaging volume for Radiologists has increased significantly, while staffing remains the same. Over a 15-year period, RVU’s (relative value units) have increased 70.3% per full-time equivalent Radiologist. And this trend is expected to continue.

Increased Burnout

55% of radiology practice leaders report that burnout is a serious problem. 

The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is a highly regarded metric used to measure burnout rates among physicians of all specialties. The study measures emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and low personal accomplishment. Reports of burnout are greater in diagnostic radiologists than in other physicians, and emergency room physicians report the greatest amount of unhappiness.

At the same time, reports of burnout in Radiologists are increasing over time — one study highlights that reports of burnout increased from 47% to 61% in a span of three years. A second study reports a similar trend of worsening burnout, showing an increase from 36% to 49% over four years.

Contributing Factors

Burnout among Radiologists can have varied causes, including stress, inadequate staffingincreased workload, and higher demands on turnaround time.

Extraneous administrative burden can place undue stress on Radiologists, and recent recommendations to aid burnout have included reducing documentation requirements and relieving administrative burden.

What is the impact?

  • Loss of productivity (leading to higher healthcare costs)
  • High radiologist turnover and early retirement (leading to shortages)
  • Ultimately: patient care suffers

How Inflo Health can help:

Inflo Health is working on solutions to directly tackle burnout surrounding Radiology departments and practices. By leveraging technology to better manage workloads, flows, and processes, we can unlock new levels of efficiency, clarity, and accuracy while reducing costs. 

The right technology and implementation strategy to automate non-clinical tasks can free up in-demand physicians, leaving room for increased well-being and more time to focus on diagnostic efforts.

We’d love to show you how our workflow efficiency product has been able to automate non-clinical tasks with our partner sites. Reach out to us below to learn more.

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