On the whole, physicians are frustrated with how medicine is practiced today, according to Geneia's aptly named Physician Misery Index, a survey of more than 400 full-time physicians.
About half of physicians surveyed (51 percent) have considered alternative career options. For those with less than 10 years of practice, 62 percent have considered other options. Even more respondents (67 percent) said they know another physician who will likely stop practicing in the next five years due to burnout.
The survey also reported the top reasons for the dissatisfaction among physicians. Here are the top three.
1. Physicians feel they do not have sufficient time to establish meaningful relationships with their patients. About 78 percent of respondents said they feel hurried while working with patients.
2. This has led many physicians to fear that quality time with patients is gone and no longer part of the practice of medicine. Approximately 84 percent of respondents echoed these sentiments.
3. Physicians are frustrated with the increased business and regulatory focus in medicine. Eighty-seven percent said increased business and regulations were transforming healthcare for the worse.
"We found that most physicians still love medicine, but increasingly are frustrated by the business of medicine. For most physicians, the ability to create meaningful relationships with their patients and truly impact health outcomes is why they entered the practice of medicine in the first place, and is critical to experiencing joy in their work," Heather Lavoie, Geneia's COO, said in a statement.
More articles on integration and physician issues:
66% of physicians think PPACA should be repealed
Should ACE scores be part of routine exams?
What is physicians' Plan B if the Supreme Court repeals the PPACA?