Digital overload among primary care physicians as an emerging threat to workforce sustainability

Yashkina, T.O. (2026) Digital overload among primary care physicians as an emerging threat to workforce sustainability. Перспективи та інновації науки=Prospects and innovations in science, 63 (5). pp. 2229-2239. ISSN 2786-4952

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Abstract

The digital transformation of healthcare has substantially changed the everyday practice of primary care physicians by expanding opportunities for clinical documentation, care coordination, remote consultations, and long-term patient follow-up. At the same time, digitalisation has created a new spectrum of professional risks, among which digital overload is becoming increasingly significant. This phenomenon involves not only increased time spent working with electronic health records but also the accumulation of indirect clinical work, administrative digital tasks, large volumes of electronic communications, and the transfer of part of the professional workload into after-hours time. The issue is particularly relevant for primary care physicians because of their central role in care coordination, chronic disease management, and asynchronous patient communication. The aim of this article was to systematise current scientific evidence on digital overload among primary care physicians, analyse its main components and mechanisms of development, and assess its impact on professional well-being and workforce sustainability in primary care. A narrative review of contemporary literature was conducted, focusing on electronic health records, indirect clinical work, administrative burden, asynchronous digital work, professional burnout, and workforce retention in family medicine. The literature analysis demonstrated that digital overload is a multidimensional phenomenon arising at the intersection of technological, organisational, and communication-related factors. Its principal components include excessive electronic documentation, high volumes of electronic messages, duplication of digital tasks, poor usability of electronic systems, inadequate team-based distribution of digital responsibilities, and a lack of protected time for managing digital work. Current studies demonstrate that high message volumes and increased after-hours work in electronic systems are associated with greater emotional exhaustion and professional burnout. At the same time, international studies suggest that the critical issue is not digitalisation itself, but whether digital processes reduce physicians’ actual workload or instead create new forms of organisationally invisible work. Digital overload reduces time available for direct patient interaction, decreases job satisfaction, and increases the likelihood of reducing clinical activity or leaving practice. Digital overload should therefore be regarded as a systemic challenge for the organisation of primary care rather than merely a side effect of digitalisation. Promising response strategies include recognising asynchronous digital work as part of physicians’ actual workload, optimising electronic systems, implementing team-based redistribution of digital tasks, allocating protected time for electronic communications, and further research into the impact of digital overload on quality of care, patient safety, and workforce sustainability in primary care.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	DOI:10.52058/2786-4952-2026-5(63)-2229-2239
Uncontrolled Keywords:	primary care, family medicine, digital overload, electronic health records, asynchronous work, administrative burden, professional burnout, workforce sustainability, workforce retention, healthcare digitalisation
Subjects:	Family Medicine
Divisions:	Departments > Family Medicine, Propaedeutics of Internal Medicine and Laboratory Diagnostics
Depositing User:	Аліна Чеботарьова
Date Deposited:	04 Jun 2026 12:39
Last Modified:	04 Jun 2026 12:39
URI:	http://repo.dma.dp.ua/id/eprint/10038

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