Estimating cost of physician burnout in the US

Editor's Note

There is a substantial economic value for policy and organizational expenditures for physician burnout reduction programs, this study finds.

A conservative base-case model estimates that about $4.6 billion in costs is attributable to physician burnout each year in the US because of physician turnover and reduced clinical hours.

On an organizational level, the annual economic cost of burnout is about $7,600 per employed physician each year.

These findings along with previous studies show that burnout can effectively be reduced with moderate levels of investment, the researchers say.