Author Quint Studer and Dr. Joe Noseworthy of the Mayo Clinic on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

Quint Studer and Dr. John Noseworthy, president and CEO of the Mayo Clinic, spoke on "Morning Joe" this morning about the impact of burnout on doctors — and their patients.

Studer's new book "Healing Physician Burnout" addresses what he and Noseworthy say is a looming crisis in the health care community.

Burnout can have very real impacts on the number of medical errors made, clinical outcomes and quality of care. It is defined as a loss of energy idealism and purpose.

"That's what doctors went into it (for)," Studer said. "What you're losing is your connection to why I did this in the first place."

Noseworthy said residents at Mayo Clinic  are now assessed for stress, resilience and their own well-being to help battle burnout.

While the suggestion was that tort reform and the Affordable Care Act have impacted this trend, Studer noted that in the research for the book, they found the move toward electronic health records has been a key contributor.

Eventually electronic health records may prove to be a boost to doctors and the way they do their job, Studer said, but now it is causing levels of frustration that are hindering doctors' satisfaction with their work.

"We found the more computerized a doctor is the more likely they were to burn out," he said.

As doctors — who are used to being the very highest of high performers — are adjusting to technology they're not used to, it makes them feel as if they are moving backward in their skills, Studer said.

"And they don't like the feeling of going backward."

"If we don't recapture physicians' hearts, there will be no health care as we know it."