Cost reduction focus linked to higher clinician burnout: KLAS

Healthcare organizations that place a strong emphasis on cost reduction may see higher levels of clinician burnout, according to an April 20 report from KLAS Research.

The report, “CMIO & CNIO Perspectives on the Clinician Experience 2026,” is based on interviews with 42 chief medical and nursing information officers across 39 U.S. healthcare organizations and data from KLAS’ Arch Collaborative.

Here are nine key findings from the report:

• Healthcare leaders are operating under significant financial pressure, and many organizations prioritize cost management, the report said. While clinician well-being is widely recognized as important, it is often ranked behind goals such as reducing costs or improving patient experience.

• KLAS found organizations that prioritize cost reduction above other goals tend to report higher rates of clinician burnout. The report notes burnout can contribute to a cycle of staffing shortages and increased workload for remaining clinicians.

• Conversely, organizations that rank clinician experience as their top priority report higher levels of electronic health record satisfaction. According to the report, clinicians at those organizations have EHR satisfaction scores more than 10 points higher than the Arch Collaborative average. KLAS data also indicates clinicians with higher EHR satisfaction report lower levels of burnout and turnover.

• CMIOs and CNIOs identified clinician burnout, staffing shortages and internal misalignment as the most common challenges to improving the clinician experience. Patient message burden and EHR usability were also frequently cited.

• The report found frontline clinicians identify many of the same issues but often describe them in more concrete terms, including documentation burden, data accessibility and system integration challenges.

• Documentation burden remains a key concern. Survey data cited in the report shows nurses most frequently identify documentation as a top EHR-related issue, while physicians most often cite integration, data accessibility and documentation among their primary concerns.

• To address these challenges, many organizations are investing in artificial intelligence tools. Among respondents who identified a primary initiative to improve the clinician experience, 52% cited ambient speech and related AI technologies, according to the report. The tools are described as helping reduce documentation burden and improve data accessibility, though the report notes they are not a comprehensive solution.

• The report also highlights the importance of including nurses in improvement efforts. Some nurse leaders said initiatives are often designed with physicians in mind, despite nurses representing the largest segment of the clinical workforce and playing a significant role in patient experience.

• KLAS found not prioritizing the clinician experience is associated with increased burnout and turnover, as well as negative impacts on patient experience. The report also states clinician satisfaction, particularly with the EHR, is closely tied to retention and perceptions of organizational support.

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