From Headache to Handled: Advanced In-Basket Management System in Primary Care Clinics Reduces Provider Workload Burden and Self-Reported Burnout.

Background:  The electronic health record (EHR) has been associated with provider burnout, exacerbated by increasing In-Basket burden.

Objectives:  We sought to study the impact of implementing a team-based approach to In-Basket management on a series of primary care ambulatory sites.

Methods:  We performed a workflow analysis of the transition to the Advanced In-Basket Management (AIM) nurse team triage for six family medicine clinic locations in a large health system. We abstracted and analyzed associated provider workflow metrics from our EHR. We conducted a postintervention provider survey on satisfaction with the AIM project and provider burnout.

Results:  The AIM project was implemented in six family medicine clinics after provider townhalls and workgroup development. A nurse team curriculum was created using the principles of "maturing the message" before sending it to a provider and "only handle it once" to improve response efficiency. Provider workload metrics abstracted from the EHR demonstrated 12.2 fewer In-Basket messages per provider per day (p < 0.05), 6.3 fewer minutes per provider per day worked outside scheduled hours (p < 0.05), 3.5 fewer minutes spent in the In-Basket per provider per day (p < 0.05), but 13.7 more seconds spent per completed message per provider (p = 0.017), likely attributable to increased message complexity. Sixty-four percent of providers reported no burnout symptoms in a postintervention survey, 56% agreed that the AIM project reduced their burnout, and approximately 70% of providers agreed that the AIM project was acceptable and appropriate for their clinic.

Conclusion:  The AIM project demonstrates team-based nurse In-Basket triage is possible to implement across multiple primary care sites, is an acceptable intervention for providers, can reduce provider workload burden and self-reported provider burnout.