National surveys and peer-reviewed studies identified administrative burden, electronic health record documentation, staffing shortages, workload demands, and regulatory requirements among the factors associated with physician burnout. Research from physician organizations and medical journals identified workplace, operational, and administrative as potentially contributing to a greater risk of burnout across practice settings.
-
Administrative and Regulatory Burden —The Medical Group Management Association reported that 77% of respondents identified regulatory burden as a significant contributor to physician burnout.
-
Electronic Health Record Documentation — A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that physicians spent 49.2% of their office day on electronic health record and desk work compared with 27% of their time in direct face-to-face patient care. Further, physicians spent 37% of examination-room time on electronic health record and desk work.
-
Long Work Hours and Workload — The American Medical Association (AMA) reported that physicians had a 57.8-hour average workweek in 2024, including just 27.2 hours on direct patient care, 13 hours on indirect patient care, and 7.3 hours on administrative tasks.
-
Staffing Shortages — A JAMA Internal Medicine study found that nearly 50% of the 970 physicians from 15 organizations surveyed reported working with an incompletely staffed team more than 25% of the time. According to an AMA summary of the findings, physicians who reported incomplete staffing were more than twice as likely to report burnout as those working on adequately staffed teams.
-
Prior Authorization Requirements — The AMA reported that 95% of physicians said that prior authorization contributed to physician burnout. Researchers also found that physicians and their staff spent an average of 12 hours per week completing prior authorizations and handled about 43 prior authorization requests per physician each week.
-
Administrative Work Outside Clinical Hours — The Annals of Internal Medicine study found that physicians who completed after-hours diaries reported 1 to 2 hours of work each night, mostly devoted to electronic health record tasks. The AMA reported that 22.5% of physicians spent more than 8 hours per week on electronic health record work outside normal work hours in 2024.
-
Organizational Leadership and Culture — A Mayo Clinic Proceedings study found that each 1-point increase in leadership score was associated with a 3.3% decrease in physician burnout and a 9% increase in physician satisfaction.
-
Regulatory Burden — The Medical Group Management Association reported that nearly 95% of respondents said regulatory burden had increased over the previous 3 years. Further, 77% cited regulatory burden as a significant factor in physician burnout.
-
Financial and Reimbursement Pressures — The Medical Group Management Association's Regulatory Burden Report showed that respondents associated increasing regulatory burden and reimbursement pressures with physician burnout, practice consolidation, and challenges related to patient access to care. The association also found that 40% of practices employed three or more full-time administrative staff members per physician to assist with administrative and regulatory requirements, including prior authorization, claim denials, and quality reporting.
-
Work-Life Integration and Well-Being — Mayo Clinic Proceedings reported that 30.3% of physicians were satisfied with their work-life integration in 2023.
Sources: Medical Group Management Association, Annals of Internal Medicine, American Medical Association, JAMA Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic Proceedings
