Hospital clinicians: Abundance of operational inefficiencies harms patients

Researchers found that clinicians don’t see traditional wellness programs and perks as meaningful solutions for burnout. Instead, they’re asking for more visibility with (and transparency from) hospital leadership, clearer communication workflows for patient care, equitable scheduling, fewer apps to manage, and less administrative burden.

Half of respondents cited workload intensity or fatigue from previous shifts as major stressors and attrition factors, while 7 in 10 indicated that inequities and inefficiencies were worsened by manual scheduling processes. The concerns spilled over to patient outcomes, as 96% of clinicians reported that they lost time for patient care due to systemic issues.

“Clinicians see a direct correlation between the non-clinical work they’re asked to do and the amount of time they’re able to spend on patient safety and care,” Ben Moore, PerfectServe’s chief innovation officer, said in a statement. “By addressing the white noise, the excess admin work, delays in back-and-forth communication, and other common roadblocks, health care leaders can take better care of their clinicians and set them up to focus on the most urgent work affecting patient outcomes.”

Three key findings PerfectServe’s survey uncovered several operational inefficiencies that threaten clinician retention, patient care, and business outcomes for hospitals, according to the company. Here are three top findings:

1. Patient safety risks stem from communication gaps. Only 46% of clinicians surveyed said they feel confident they can reach the right colleague in urgent scenarios. Research shows that communication failures contribute to more than 60% of hospital adverse events in the United States.

2. Operational issues directly impact patient care.  Nearly half of clinicians (49%) surveyed said their employer’s current scheduling system does not adequately consider patient census or acuity when assigning schedules, and another 32% indicated that existing scheduling practices routinely overlook patient continuity of care when setting shifts and assigning clinicians. This can negatively impact patient transitions and overall clinical care.
3. The workforce crisis is compounded by operational inefficiency.  The United States faces a projected shortfall of 86,000 physicians by 2036, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. At the same time, high nurse stress and attrition rates from long hours and inadequate compensation are made worse by scheduling and communication failures that add unnecessary toil to their day-to-day activities. PerfectSave’s report found that burnout is exacerbated by inefficient scheduling, with telltale symptoms like workload imbalances, cumulative exhaustion, and failure to honor time-off requests. Together, these frustrations present an expensive problem for hospital leadership; reports suggest that clinician burnout eventually will cost the health care system nearly $4.6 billion annually.

“What clinicians are describing are symptoms of deeper operational issues — how schedules are built, how alerts are managed, and how communication flows during a shift,” Miriam Halimi, PerfectServe’s senior vice president of client services, said. “To make a real impact on wellness, leaders have to strengthen these core systems. When operations run smoothly, care teams can focus on patients instead of fighting the process.”