Home News When Burnout Leads Family Physicians to Leave or Move Practices Research When Burnout Leads Family Physicians to Leave or Move Practices New research linking ABFM survey data with Medicare claims shows a strong connection between family physician burnout and turnover. April 9, 2026 Burnout among family physicians is a familiar concern, but how often does it actually lead to physicians leaving or changing practices? A new national study published in JAMA Internal Medicine helps answer that question. Researchers linked American Board of Family Medicine survey data with Medicare claims to examine whether family physicians who reported burnout were more likely to leave practice or move to a new one. Burnout was defined simply: feeling burned out from work or becoming more callous toward people at least weekly. What the Study Looked At The study included nearly 20,000 board-certified family physicians who completed ABFM surveys between 2016 and 2020. Researchers followed physicians’ Medicare billing patterns to see whether they stayed in the same practice, moved to a new one, or stopped practicing altogether within the year after completing the survey. What They Found Burnout was common – about 44% of physicians reported it. While most physicians stayed in their practices, those who reported burnout were significantly more likely to leave or move. Overall, 8.4% of physicians changed or left practices. Among these physicians, 10.2% reported burnout, compared with about 7.0% of those without burnout. Why It Matters These findings suggest that burnout isn’t just about personal well-being – it also contributes to instability in the primary care workforce, making it harder for patients to maintain long‑term relationships with their doctors. Research cited in this study shows that patients who lose their primary care physician experience higher emergency department use, higher spending, and lower care satisfaction. Sustained attention to burnout may be important for supporting physicians and maintaining continuity of care. Read the study: Turnover and Burnout Among Family Physicians Your Surveys Contribute to ABFM Research Every time you complete an ABFM survey – whether as part of your Continuous Certification Questionnaire, the National Graduate Survey, or the Practice Demographic Survey – you are contributing to a longitudinal, national dataset that researchers can use to ask and answer questions that matter for the future of family medicine.
