Background: Physicians are highly vulnerable to work-related stress; however, little is known about the workload of ophthalmologists.
Material and methods: In March 2017 a cross-sectional and paper-based survey of all practice-based ophthalmologists in the federal state of Thuringia was conducted. Additionally, data from 2016 and 2009 using physician fee schedule datasets provided by the Thuringian Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians were analyzed.
Results: The response rate was 27% (n = 42 ophthalmologists) of which 95% (n = 40) exceeded the effort-reward cut-off value (>1) indicating a high level of work stress. The overall number of treatment cases did not show a statistically significant difference between 2016 and 2009 (n = 118 ophthalmologists, p = 0.412). In contrast, the number of treatment cases of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and essential (primary) hypertension was statistically significantly higher in 2016 compared to 2009 (n = 118 ophthalmologists, p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Almost all respondents reported a high level of work stress and this was reflected in the number of treatment cases of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and essential hypertension, which was statistically significantly higher in 2016 than in 2009. The results suggest that working conditions should be adapted to meet the needs of chronically ill patients and reduce physicians' workload at the same time.
Keywords: Chronic disease; Effort-reward imbalance; Health services research; Occupational stress; Practice-based ophthalmologists.