Can Shared Decision Making Improve Physician Well-Being and Reduce Burnout?

There are many causes of physician burnout in today’s health care environment, including an ever increasing administrative workload, pressure to do more work in less time, and a drive to reduce costs and improve patient outcomes. Importantly, lack of meaning in work is a crucial documented driver of physician burnout. Clinical encounters perceived as meaningful by physicians could therefore potentially positively impact physician well-being. Here we reflect on the potential of interventions that aim to enhance the patient-physician interaction, such as shared decision making, to improve physician well-being by facilitating interactions with patients that are perceived as meaningful.