JAMA Internal Medicine Retracts Well-Publicized Paper

<em>JAMA Internal Medicine</em> Retracts Well-Publicized Paper Posted By:
...

In what was then considered a very significant finding, JAMA Internal Medicine published an article in 2018 entitled "Association Between Burnout and Patient Safety, Professionalism, and Patient Satisfaction: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis." The article examined 47 studies on 42,473 physicians from a number of different countries, finding that burnout was associated with a two-fold increased risk of patient safety incidents (odds ratio [OR], 1.96; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.59-2.40), poorer quality of care due to unprofessional behaviors (OR 2.31; 95% CI, 1.87-2.85), and low patient satisfaction (OR 2.28; 95% CI, 1.42-3.68). The authors concluded that physician burnout may jeopardize patient care. According to metrics for this article on the JAMA website, the manuscript has been viewed directly on the site more than 26,000 times and has been cited in other publications 139 times.

However, in mid-May of 2020, JAMA Internal Medicine retracted this article due to flaws in how the systematic review was conducted and the likelihood that there are additional errors in the publication.

Does this mean the conclusions are wrong? Not necessarily. What this does mean is that it will be necessary to go back and do the systematic review de novo and then draw appropriate conclusions before republishing and spreading the findings widely. It is exceedingly difficult to "unring the bell" once a study has been published, even one that has been debunked in the truest sense of the word.

This is not the first time a major journal has withdrawn an article that had been vetted by the traditional peer review process, which, in many instances, includes outside statisticians for data review and analysis. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are particularly prone to these kinds of criticisms and errors, in part because of disparities in the studies that are assessed and analyzed.

References
  • Bauchner H, Redberg RF. Notice of Retraction: Panagioti et al. Association Between Physician Burnout and Patient Safety, Professionalism, and Patient Satisfaction: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2018;178(10):1317-1331. JAMA Intern Med. Published online May 18, 2020.
  • Panagioti M, Geraghty K, Johnson J, et al. Association Between Physician Burnout and Patient Safety, Professionalism, and Patient Satisfaction: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2018;178:1317-1331.

Share

Filed under: Practice Management/Career

Related
Autonomy and Motivation for the Healthcare Workforce

Autonomy and Motivation for the Healthcare Workfor ...

I recently discovered the New England Journal of Medicine podcast Not Otherwise Specified. In full t ...

Filed under: Health Policy and Trends, Miscellaneous, Practice Management/Career, NPs & PAs


Continue Reading
Implicit vs Explicit Bias in Healthcare: A Crash Course

Implicit vs Explicit Bias in Healthcare: A Crash C ...

We all have it—bias, that is. It affects how we interact with others and our relationships, includ ...

Filed under: Miscellaneous, Practice Management/Career, NPs & PAs


Continue Reading
Honest and Confident Patient-Provider Relationships

Honest and Confident Patient-Provider Relationship ...

Continuing Adelaide's case example from post 1 and post 2.

Two months later, Adelaid ...

Filed under: NPs & PAs, Practice Management/Career


Continue Reading
Hope Tempered With Reality

Hope Tempered With Reality

"We don't want to lose hope or let Mom think we don't believe she'll get better." For palliative car ...

Filed under: Miscellaneous, Practice Management/Career


Continue Reading
Why Palliative Care?

Why Palliative Care?

Palliative and serious illness care can be thought of as a "newer" specialty in medicine. The specia ...

Filed under: Practice Management/Career


Continue Reading
Toxic Culture and Driving Meaningful Change

Toxic Culture and Driving Meaningful Change

I have recently taken an increased interest in podcasts. One of my favorites is Brené Brown's Dar ...

Filed under: Miscellaneous, Practice Management/Career


Continue Reading