App Saves Docs From Burnout

By Katie Wike, contributing writer

Physician burnout is a growing problem, and one app from Seattle’s HappyMD.com hopes to change that by helping doctors relax.

Health IT Outcomes reported last year that 67 percent of physicians report knowing a doctor who will likely stop practicing in the next five years. This stems from increasing stress in the workplace, EHRs, regulations and growing workloads. In addition, the upcoming ICD-10 deadline and Meaningful Use requirements are adding to physicians’ worries.

To combat this, Dike Drummond developed the Burnout Proof app, which includes stress management and balance tools to help busy doctors cope with the stress of the job. According to mHealth News, the app contains videos, audio recordings and how-to guides that help doctors relax, such as walking, sitting and other relaxation therapies to an eight-minute chair yoga routine that can be done in the office.

“The epidemic of physician burnout must stop,” Drummond, CEO of TheHappyMD.com, said in a press release. “We’ve packed 1,547 hours of one-on-one physician coaching experience into the “Burnout Proof” mobile app, so the videos, audios and handouts inside are available to any physician 24/7. This is everything we should have learned in residency about stress management, burnout prevention and life balance, but somehow did not make it on the curriculum.”

According to the designer, each of the “Burnout Proof” tools stands on its own and will lower doctors stress at work and increase their ability to recharge while off the job. Custom versions of the technology are available for your practice.