Tackling Provider Burnout Through Predictable Workflows

Obstetrics and gynecology has one of the highest burnout rates of any medical specialty. According to ACOG, more than 53% of OB-GYNs report symptoms of burnout—a rate that has been climbing steadily for the past decade. The consequences extend beyond individual providers to affect patient care, hospital operations, and the sustainability of the specialty itself.

The Unpredictability Problem

Unlike many other specialties, obstetrics is defined by unpredictability. Babies don't arrive on schedule. A routine day can become a marathon of back-to-back emergencies with no warning. This fundamental uncertainty creates chronic stress that accumulates over time.

Providers describe the experience in familiar terms:

"I never know if I'll make it to my kid's soccer game. I've missed anniversaries, birthdays, family dinners—and I can't even give my family a heads up because I genuinely don't know when I'll be done."

This uncertainty doesn't just affect personal life. It creates a state of constant vigilance that depletes mental resources and contributes to compassion fatigue.

The Documentation Burden

On top of the unpredictability, providers face an enormous documentation burden. Studies show that physicians spend approximately two hours on documentation for every one hour of direct patient care. For many OB-GYNs, this means finishing notes at home late at night—a phenomenon so common it has a name: "pajama time."

This documentation burden isn't just time-consuming; it's demoralizing. Providers went into medicine to care for patients, not to spend their evenings clicking through EHR fields.

How Predictability Changes Everything

What if providers could know, with reasonable accuracy, when their patients would deliver? What if they could plan their days, their coverage, and their personal commitments with confidence?

Birth Model's delivery time predictions give providers exactly this visibility. Our AI analyzes hundreds of clinical variables in real-time to predict delivery times within ±12 minutes. This isn't a crystal ball—it's data-driven intelligence that helps providers:

• Plan their on-call time more effectively by knowing when patients are likely to deliver
• Coordinate coverage with colleagues based on predicted patient volumes
• Communicate realistic expectations to families about delivery timing
• Reduce the anxiety of constant uncertainty that characterizes the specialty

Eliminating "Pajama Time"

Our AI-powered documentation tools address the other major contributor to burnout: the documentation burden. Diagnotes automatically generates procedure notes, operative reports, and delivery summaries by pulling relevant data from the EHR and structuring it appropriately.

Providers review and sign off on AI-generated drafts rather than building documents from scratch. What once took 30+ minutes can be completed in under 5—and completed correctly, with appropriate billing codes attached.

The Workforce Crisis We Must Address

The United States is projected to face a shortage of up to 6,500 OB-GYNs by 2030. We cannot train our way out of this shortage fast enough. We must retain the providers we have—and that means addressing the factors that drive them away from the specialty.

Technology alone won't solve burnout. But technology that reduces unpredictability, eliminates unnecessary administrative burden, and helps providers reclaim their time can be part of the solution.