Physician burnout in the U.S. has dropped to its lowest level since before the pandemic.
Specifically, new data reveals that 43.2% of doctors reported at least one symptom of burnout in 2024, down from 48.2% the year prior, according to research from the American Medical Association (AMA).
“This is a promising sign that efforts to improve physician well-being are gaining traction,” AMA researchers wrote.
The research findings and related report are based on nearly 18,000 responses from physicians in 43 states.
The report, part of the AMA’s national physician comparison initiative, is a snapshot of six categories: job satisfaction, job stress, burnout, intent to leave, feeling valued and total hours worked.
According to the AMA, job satisfaction rose to 76.5% in 2024, up from 72.1% in 2023. Job stress declined as well, with 45.1% of physicians reporting high stress levels, compared to 50.7% the previous year.
While the data is encouraging, ongoing issues such as EHR burdens, staffing shortages and scheduling constraints remain prevalent stressors, AMA wrote.
Over a third of physicians cited inefficient EHR systems and documentation tasks as key contributors to burnout, often completed after hours. And documentation is a perennial issue, industry leaders have told ASC News.
“It’s very surface level at the facility,” Tansie Stewart, CEO of the Texas Health Surgery Center Park Hill, told Ambulatory Surgery Center News at the Investment & Operations conference. “We’re paper charting most of the time. … When we go to the EHR, that will be our main concern – is it functioning? And what’s our back end?”
Another 26.5% of physicians surveyed pointed to a lack of support staff, particularly nurses and medical assistants, as a top concern. Other stressors listed by physicians were limited control over their schedule, excessive administrative tasks, lack of support and transparency from leadership, and familial stress, researchers wrote.
For ASC operators navigating these challenges, the research findings support the importance of implementing system-level changes when necessary.
“By systematically measuring burnout, health systems can identify the problem and target areas for improvement to ensure a supportive work environment and sustain overall well-being,” AMA wrote.
Broadly, physician burnout can be a double-edged sword for ASCs.
On one hand, ASCs often struggle to match hospital wages and benefits, making it difficult to retain or recruit top-tier medical talent. While a hospital can help offset burnout with sky-high compensation, an ASC can’t always do that.
At the same time, many hospital-based physicians feeling stressed and overwhelmed may actually turn to ASCs for relief. Many ASC roles involve standard business hours and fewer on-call requirements, aligning well with physicians’ desires for work-life balance – a key factor in burnout reduction.
