Doctor morale shaky as practice stressors surge

Support from spouses and other family members is important to prevent burnout among physicians.

By Damon Adams, AMNews staff. Jan. 15, 2007.

Doctors are singing the blues. They're down about low reimbursement rates, loss of respect and too many patients.

Many suffer from sagging morale, burnout and depression, according to a new nationwide survey of physicians. Six in 10 doctors have considered leaving medicine because they are discouraged by the health care system.

Some struggle to put a bright smile on what they see as a grim reality.

"It's getting worse. It's almost like a snowball rolling downhill," said Gregg Broffman, MD, medical director of Lifetime Health Medical Group in Buffalo, N.Y., who is familiar with the survey and has practiced for more than 25 years. "No one ever taught us this in medical school. No one ever said, 'Folks, the world is going to change professionally for you, not only technologically, but also in the way that business is done.' "

The American College of Physician Executives queried 1,200 physician executives -- most of whom see patients -- about their morale and published the results, with related articles on stress and burnout, in the November/December 2006 The Physician Executive.

Low reimbursement rates and loss of autonomy were the top two reasons for poor morale.

Bureaucratic red tape, patient overload, loss of respect and the medical liability environment were among the other reasons physicians cited.

Those work problems caused fatigue in 77% of physicians, emotional burnout in 67% and marital/family discord or depression in about one in three physician respondents.