When physician well-being survey results arrive, it can be tempting for health system leaders to focus on one question: Are we doing better or worse than other health systems? The more useful question may be what the data reveals about daily work, where physicians are feeling strain and which problems leaders can actually fix. Receiving results from a physician well-being survey is not the end of the process. It’s the beginning of action.
That is especially true when health systems use results from the AMA’s Organizational Biopsy® to move beyond headline numbers and identify what is driving physician distress. That means reviewing key indicators such as burnout, job satisfaction and intent to leave. Then digging deeper into the conditions shaping physician experience—everything from documentation burden to leadership support, operational reliability and trust.
“After the Organizational Biopsy assessments, the AMA provides an executive summary highlighting key findings. Organizations also gain access to an online reporting platform, which allows them to explore their data in detail, including national comparison data,” said Heather Farley, MD, MHCDS, vice president of professional satisfaction for the AMA. “This helps health systems understand where they stand relative to similar organizations and identify areas needing attention.”
Organizations that are part of the “AMA Health System Member Program also benefit from additional analytic reporting services, as well as coaching for progress with AMA well-being subject matter experts, which includes post Organizational Biopsy action planning,” Dr. Farley explained. “We help organizations to identify which drivers are most actionable, prioritize interventions based on impact and feasibility, and take advantage of AMA evidence-based tools as part of their improvement strategy."
With results in hand, Dr. Farley shares what leaders must know and do to advance well-being work across their health system to take meaningful steps to reduce physician burnout.
Start with the key indicators
When a health system first receives their well-being survey report, their initial review should focus on the key performance indicators (KPIs).
“Generally, these KPIs include burnout, job satisfaction and job stress. If your organization is using the AMA Organizational Biopsy, those KPIs also include intent to leave and a perception of feeling valued,” Dr. Farley said. “Those KPIs give you a snapshot of overall organizational well-being.”
“The next step is to put these KPIs into context by comparing your results to national benchmarks and internal benchmarks,” she said.
When deciding what to tackle first, it can be helpful to start with areas that have been identified as having the largest gaps or strongest drivers of dissatisfaction and burnout in your health system’s data.
“Typically, the domains impacting practice efficiency, operational reliability and organizational culture are fruitful starting points,” Dr. Farley said, noting that “at prioritization, also consider feasibility, so focusing on achievable quick wins to build momentum while laying groundwork for bigger systematic interventions.”
“Leaders should also be sure to involve frontline physicians and teams directly in prioritization and codesign of solutions to ensure relevance and buy-in,” she said.
Beyond what to start with, Dr. Farley takes a deep dive into what leaders and health systems should assess when reviewing physician well-being survey results and what steps to take next. This includes:
- Patterns to look for in the survey results.
- Identifying gaps and what is trending.
- How to focus on the drivers, not just burnout.
- Why it’s not about personal resilience.
- Questions to ask when data is flat or unchanged.
- How to build a six-to-12-month road map.
- What success looks like after a year.
