Primary Care Providers Have Highest Levels of Burnout. Here's What Your Health System Can Do

Despite specialists reporting high levels of burnout, it appears the levels among primary care providers surpassed that of specialists. In fact, primary care providers in the U.S. have near 80% burnout levels, according to a recent survey by InCrowd, a Massachusetts-based life science market company and innovator. The burnout level estimate is nearly double the 43.9% level reported in a study from the American Academy of Family Physicians in March. The alarming persistence of physician burnout over the years and across multiple studies unfortunately demonstrates that we have not yet turned the tide on this problematic issue,  said Diane Hayes, Ph.D., co-founder and president of InCrowd. The survey gathered perceptions form 612 U.S.-based physicians, of which 320 were primary care providers and 319 were specialists. A majority (56%) of the respondents were women. Providers were an average age of 43 and an average 12 years in practice, according to InCrowd.