THURSDAY, April 9, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Family physicians self-reporting burnout are almost 1.5 times more likely to leave or change practices than physicians not reporting burnout, according to a research letter published online March 30 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Dhruv Khullar, M.D., from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, and colleagues linked repeated, cross-sectional national surveys (2016 to 2020) of board-certified family physicians to Medicare claims data (2015 to 2022) to examine the association between burnout and turnover.
Based on survey responses from 19,929 physicians, 43.5 percent reported burnout. During the study period, 8.4 percent of physicians changed practices or stopped practicing. Among these physicians, 10.2 percent reported burnout versus 7.1 percent who did not report burnout. Additionally, those reporting burnout were more likely to leave practice (5.4 versus 3.7 percent) and move practices (4.8 versus 3.4 percent).
"These findings highlight the urgent need to address work conditions and professional satisfaction for both the stability of the physician workforce and the well-being of patients," Khullar said in a statement.