ACR Meeting Abstracts

ACR Meeting Abstracts

  • Meetings
    • ACR Convergence 2024
    • ACR Convergence 2023
    • 2023 ACR/ARP PRSYM
    • ACR Convergence 2022
    • ACR Convergence 2021
    • ACR Convergence 2020
    • 2020 ACR/ARP PRSYM
    • 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting
    • 2018-2009 Meetings
    • Download Abstracts
  • Keyword Index
  • Advanced Search
  • Your Favorites
    • Favorites
    • Login
    • View and print all favorites
    • Clear all your favorites
  • ACR Meetings

Abstract Number: 0213

Electronic Medical Record Inbox Volume Association with Physician Gender, Physician Burnout, and the COVID-19 Pandemic at an Academic Rheumatology Center

Laura Arneson1, Brian Jaros2, Rowland Chang2, Anisha Dua2, Lutfiyya Muhammad3, Anh Chung2 and Yvonne Lee1, 1Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 2Northwestern University Division of Rheumatology, Chicago, IL, 3Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL

Meeting: ACR Convergence 2024

Keywords: gender, Health Care, Health Services Research, mood, Work Force

  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
Session Information

Date: Saturday, November 16, 2024

Title: Health Services Research – ACR/ARP Poster I

Session Type: Poster Session A

Session Time: 10:30AM-12:30PM

Background/Purpose: As Rheumatology faces a workforce shortage, factors contributing to physician burnout are crucial to address. Research in other specialties suggests that increased electronic medical record (EMR) message volume is associated with physician burnout, that EMR messages have increased since the COVID pandemic, and that female physicians receive more messages than male counterparts. This study investigated whether these patterns apply to rheumatologists affiliated with an academic center.  

Methods: Clinical attending rheumatologists (n=25) practicing at a single academic center and its affiliated clinics received an email inviting participation. Participants completed the Professional Fulfillment Index (PFI) questionnaire, entailing 16 questions with scores for professional fulfillment and burnout. and burnout sub-scales for work exhaustion and interpersonal disengagement. Demographic information was collected, including self-identified gender. Metrics on the number of patient-generated messages received by each physician, as well as the total number of patients seen, were extracted from an institutional EMR database. Data were divided into four time periods in relation to the COVID pandemic: pre-pandemic (3/1/19 – 2/29/20), early pandemic (3/1/20 – 2/28/21), late-pandemic (3/1/21 – 2/28/22), and recovery (3/1/22 – 2/28/23). Message volume was calculated as the number of patient-generated EMR messages received per time period, normalized to the number of patients seen during that period. Statistical analyses included Wilcoxon rank-sum tests comparing message volume between males and females, Kruskal-Wallis tests comparing combined message volume over the four time periods, and Spearman’s rho correlations between PFI scores and message volume for the recovery period. 

Results: Ten female and five male rheumatologists participated. A majority of participants had practiced for 10-19 years (n=8, 53.3%) and most practiced at the primary hospital campus (n=11, 73.3%). Mean message volume was numerically higher for female rheumatologists during all time periods (Table 1, Figure 1). Mean message volume increased from the pre-pandemic to early pandemic period, then decreased, though not to the pre-pandemic baseline (Table 1, Figure 1). These results did not vary significantly between male and female rheumatologists. Mean professional fulfillment and burnout scores are reported in Table 2. Message volume correlated more with work exhaustion (rs = 0.325) and professional fulfillment (rs = 0.344) than with overall burnout (rs = 0.181) or interpersonal disengagement (rs = 0.114). The above results did not meet statistical significance.  

Conclusion: While this study was limited by small sample size, trends toward increased EMR message volume in rheumatology, more pronounced for female rheumatologists and since the COVID pandemic, warrant larger-scale study and intervention to workflow to prevent burnout.  

Supporting image 1

Table 1. Comparison of rheumatologists’ EMR message volume by gender and time period. Message volume was calculated as the number of messages each rheumatologist received, divided by the number of patients they saw, per time period. Time periods were designated relative to the COVID pandemic: pre-pandemic (3/1/19 – 2/29/20), early pandemic (3/1/20 – 2/28/21), late-pandemic (3/1/21 – 2/28/22), and recovery (3/1/22 – 2/28/23).

Supporting image 2

Figure 1. Mean message volume received by male and female rheumatologists throughout the COVID pandemic.  Message volume was calculated as the number of messages each rheumatologist received, divided by the number of patients they saw, per time period. Time periods were designated relative to the COVID pandemic: pre-pandemic (3/1/19 – 2/29/20), early pandemic (3/1/20 – 2/28/21), late-pandemic (3/1/21 – 2/28/22), and recovery (3/1/22 – 2/28/23). Error bars represent one standard deviation from the mean.

Supporting image 3

Table 2. Correlations between rheumatologists’ EMR message volume and professional fulfillment / burnout scores. Message volume was calculated as the number of EMR messages each rheumatologist received, divided by the number of patients they saw, from 3/1/22 – 2/28/23. Rheumatologists’ mean scores on each scale of the Professional Fulfillment Index (PFI) are reported: professional fulfillment (≥3 indicating fulfillment), overall burnout (≥1.33 indicating burnout), and the burnout sub-scales of work exhaustion and interpersonal disengagement. Spearman’s rho correlations were calculated between message volume and PFI scores.


Disclosures: L. Arneson: None; B. Jaros: None; R. Chang: None; A. Dua: AbbVie/Abbott, 2, Amgen, 2, AstraZeneca, 2, GlaxoSmithKlein(GSK), 2, Sandoz, 2, sanofi, 2; L. Muhammad: None; A. Chung: None; Y. Lee: Cigna-Express Scripts, 8, CVS Health, 8, GE Healthcare, 8.

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Arneson L, Jaros B, Chang R, Dua A, Muhammad L, Chung A, Lee Y. Electronic Medical Record Inbox Volume Association with Physician Gender, Physician Burnout, and the COVID-19 Pandemic at an Academic Rheumatology Center [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2024; 76 (suppl 9). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/electronic-medical-record-inbox-volume-association-with-physician-gender-physician-burnout-and-the-covid-19-pandemic-at-an-academic-rheumatology-center/. Accessed .
  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

« Back to ACR Convergence 2024

ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/electronic-medical-record-inbox-volume-association-with-physician-gender-physician-burnout-and-the-covid-19-pandemic-at-an-academic-rheumatology-center/

Advanced Search

Your Favorites

You can save and print a list of your favorite abstracts during your browser session by clicking the “Favorite” button at the bottom of any abstract. View your favorites »

All abstracts accepted to ACR Convergence are under media embargo once the ACR has notified presenters of their abstract’s acceptance. They may be presented at other meetings or published as manuscripts after this time but should not be discussed in non-scholarly venues or outlets. The following embargo policies are strictly enforced by the ACR.

Accepted abstracts are made available to the public online in advance of the meeting and are published in a special online supplement of our scientific journal, Arthritis & Rheumatology. Information contained in those abstracts may not be released until the abstracts appear online. In an exception to the media embargo, academic institutions, private organizations, and companies with products whose value may be influenced by information contained in an abstract may issue a press release to coincide with the availability of an ACR abstract on the ACR website. However, the ACR continues to require that information that goes beyond that contained in the abstract (e.g., discussion of the abstract done as part of editorial news coverage) is under media embargo until 10:00 AM ET on November 14, 2024. Journalists with access to embargoed information cannot release articles or editorial news coverage before this time. Editorial news coverage is considered original articles/videos developed by employed journalists to report facts, commentary, and subject matter expert quotes in a narrative form using a variety of sources (e.g., research, announcements, press releases, events, etc.).

Violation of this policy may result in the abstract being withdrawn from the meeting and other measures deemed appropriate. Authors are responsible for notifying colleagues, institutions, communications firms, and all other stakeholders related to the development or promotion of the abstract about this policy. If you have questions about the ACR abstract embargo policy, please contact ACR abstracts staff at [email protected].

Wiley

  • Online Journal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Permissions Policies
  • Cookie Preferences

© Copyright 2025 American College of Rheumatology