Is Documentation Overload Fueling Burnout?

Jul 1, 2025

Inside Clara

How Clara Supports Clinicians in 2025

Clinical documentation is the backbone of modern healthcare. Yet, for many clinicians, it remains one of the most time-consuming and frustrating parts of daily work. Why does this problem persist, and how do we know it’s real and urgent? At Clara, we set out to validate this challenge with real-world data and direct feedback from clinicians.

The Problem: Documentation Takes Time, Focus, and Energy

Multiple studies confirm that clinicians spend between 26% and 37% of their working hours on documentation tasks, with some reports indicating that this can reach up to 50% depending on specialty and setting. For example, a 2022 study found that healthcare professionals spend an average of 13.5 hours per week, over a third of their working time, on clinical documentation. This administrative burden not only impacts efficiency but also contributes to professional burnout and dissatisfaction.

“Physicians spend nearly half their workday on EHR and desk work, often outside of clinic hours, leading to increased stress and less time for patient care.”
— Annals of Internal Medicine

Common Documentation Pitfalls

Incomplete histories: Missing key symptoms or relevant background can compromise patient safety and clinical outcomes.
Omission of normal findings: Not documenting what is normal makes it harder to track changes over time.
Unstandardized abbreviations: These can lead to misinterpretations and errors.
Illegible or disorganized notes: Hinder continuity of care and collaboration.
Missing dates and timestamps: Reduce traceability and legal reliability.

These errors are not rare, they directly affect clinical quality, patient safety, and can expose organizations to audit or legal risk.

Why Validation Matters

At Clara, we don’t just assume this is a problem. We validate it by working with real clinicians, in real clinical settings, to observe how documentation disrupts workflow. Here’s what we’ve learned:

Up to 37% of a clinician’s day is spent on documentation, according to peer-reviewed studies.
Documentation errors are a leading cause of clinical audits and malpractice litigation.
Incomplete or inaccurate records can compromise patient safety and continuity of care.

Clara: Designed for Real Clinical Workflows

Clara is not just another dictation tool or generic speech-to-text app. It’s a clinical assistant that listens to the consultation and drafts structured, traceable notes in real time without interrupting the clinician’s workflow or imposing a fixed style.

Live documentation while you care: Clara writes notes as you speak, so you never have to start from a blank screen.
Structured summaries: Automatically fills out key sections like reason for visit, history of present illness, assessment, and plan.
Sentence-level traceability: Every sentence in Clara’s note is linked back to the original transcript, making it easy to validate and audit.
Full clinician control: Notes are always editable and reviewable, Clara never replaces clinical judgment.

Clara is built with HIPAA and GDPR compliance in mind, ensuring privacy and explicit consent at every step.

Ready to Validate the Problem in Your Clinic? Try Clara

We invite you to join our private pilot program:

Test Clara in your real workflow, commitment-free.
See for yourself if documentation is truly a pain point for your team.
Measure time saved and note quality.
Provide direct feedback to shape the product for your context.

Interested? Request a demo or sign up for the pilot on our website. See how Clara helps you reclaim time and control, without losing traceability or safety.