Nearly half of US primary care physicians are burned out: survey

The US is running low on primary care physicians, and high levels of burnout aren’t helping.

A Nov. 20 survey from healthcare research foundation the Commonwealth Fund found 43% of US primary care physicians (PCPs) felt burned out. That’s more than any other country in the study, though it was followed closely by New Zealand (38%) and Canada (38%).

The most common reason cited for burnout? Administrative burden.

“The Commonwealth study reinforces what we hear every day,” Jen Brull, board chair of professional organization the American Academy of Family Physicians, told Healthcare Brew via email.

Tell me more. Research suggests burnout can contribute to poor provider performance, threatening patient safety.

Though providers of all types and specialties struggle with burnout, turnover from burnt-out PCPs in particular costs the US $260 million in excess healthcare costs each year, according to an April 2022 study in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

“The good news is we know what helps. When we can cut unnecessary burdens like prior authorization, invest in growing the next generation of primary care physicians, and support physicians’ mental health, we will see real improvements,” Brull said.

Seeking solutions. Brull said AAFP is “optimistic” about AI as a way to reduce burnout by assisting with coding, charting, and note-taking. A small but growing number of studies support that idea for AI scribes, in particular.

More broadly, Brull recommended employers make sure employees are comfortable speaking up about mental health concerns. Physicians are more likely to die by suicide than the general population, studies suggest, with one February study in JAMA Psychiatry finding women doctors had a 53% higher risk.

“Too often, physicians go without that care because of the persistent stigma around mental health diagnoses for health professionals,” she said.

The US could also take a lesson from other countries’ successes.

The Commonwealth report surveyed 10,895 PCPs from March to September in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the US.

Australia reported half the rate of burnout due to administrative burden as the US. Commonwealth researchers think this could be in part due to the country’s Provider Connect Australia System, a single billing, documentation, and messaging platform used by all payers and providers—in contrast with the US’s “fragmented” reporting system.

The good news is that burnout among US PCPs seems to have fallen since the height of the pandemic: In a 2024 report on the primary care workforce, the Health Resources and Services Administration said burnout among PCPs nationwide peaked at 53% in 2022.

“Burnout improves when the system finally starts working for the people delivering care,” Brull said.