Burnout Among Primary Care Practitioners and Staff in VA Clinics Using Virtual Contingency Staffing

TL;DR

This study finds that virtual contingency staffing in VA clinics may reduce burnout among primary care staff when staffing is low.

Contribution

The study shows that virtual contingency staffing can mitigate burnout in under-staffed VA clinics.

Findings

Burnout rates were higher in clinics without full staffing before virtual contingency program use.

Higher use of the virtual contingency program reduced the association between low staffing and burnout.

Burnout did not differ by staffing level when virtual contingency program use was high.

Abstract

Do rates of burnout vary among Veterans Health Administration (VHA) primary care practitioners (PCPs) and staff by staffing level and virtual contingency staffing program use?

In this survey study of 134 640 PCPs and staff across 139 VHA clinics, working in clinics before the implementation of the virtual contingency staffing program or that were in the lowest tertile of program use was associated with a greater likelihood for burnout if the clinic did not have full PCP staffing. This association did not differ by PCP staffing level in the higher tertiles of program use.

These findings suggest that VHA virtual contingency staffing may alleviate high workload in short-staffed clinics.

This survey study examines rates of burnout among US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) primary care practitioners and staff by staffing level and virtual contingency staffing program use.

Primary care practitioners (PCPs) and staff in Veterans Health Administration (VHA) clinics with staffing shortages have reported higher rates of burnout that may be associated with higher workloads. Introducing PCPs through the Clinical Research Hub (CRH) virtual contingency staffing program into these clinics may help reduce burnout but may also disrupt workflows and increase burnout.

To understand how rates of burnout among VHA PCPs and staff vary by staffing level and CRH program use.

This survey study used annual, repeated, cross-sectional VHA employee survey data from fiscal years 2018 to 2022 to examine associations between staffing and burnout before and after implementation of the CRH program.

Clinical Research Hub virtual contingency PCP visits.

The main outcome was burnout as measured using multilevel, mixed-effects logistic regression to estimate the association between health care system–level PCP staffing and individual-level PCP and staff burnout before and after implementation of the CRH program. An interaction term was used to test the association between program use and burnout in health care systems with full and less-than-full PCP staffing, controlling for PCP, staff, and health care system characteristics. Estimated marginal means of burnout were calculated from model results.

Survey responses from 134 640 PCPs and staff (53% younger than 49 years; 70% female) in 139 VHA health care systems were analyzed. From fiscal years 2018 to 2022, 38% of PCPs and staff experienced burnout, and CRH visits ranged from a median of 0 to 127.6 (IQR, 76.7-237.4) visits per 1000 patients at the health care system level. In estimations derived from the full model, the probability of burnout was higher in clinics without full PCP staffing before program implementation (34.3% [95% CI, 33.4%-35.2%] without full staffing vs 36.5% [95% CI, 35.3%-37.8%] with full staffing) and in the lowest tertile of CRH visits (37.4% [95% CI, 36.4%-38.4%] without full staffing vs 40.2% [95% CI, 38.3%-42.1%] with full staffing). However, burnout did not differ by staffing at higher levels of CRH visits.

In this survey study of VHA PCPs and staff, the association between low staffing and burnout was mitigated at higher levels of CRH program use, suggesting that contingency PCPs may alleviate high workload in short-staffed clinics.

Figures