Entrepreneurs and solopreneuers aren't the only ones who have a hard time controlling their inboxes. Physicians are suffering from email fatigue, which is costing institutions thousands of dollars a year.
A research paper from the Penn State College of Medicine found that the major issue is mass emails. A paediatrician tracked all the emails he received in one year and found that he received 2035 mass emails. The medical center sent 1501, the department sent 450, and the university sent 84. The subject matter varied from social events, information technology, research, clinical care, education and professional development.
For the average doctor, these emails cost institutions $1641 a year. This number is based on the average doctor salary and the assumption that each email takes 30 seconds to read. For a normal academic organization, this is a lot of time and money that could have been used more productively.
To help counteract this, physicians should use inbox filters to allow them to disregard messages that are unimportant, and avoid using the 'reply all' button.
