Associations Between Burnout and Practice Organization in Family Physicians

Burnout has been reported to be as high as 63% among family physicians and has negative effects on physicians, patients, and the medical system. There are likely structural causes of burnout, but little is known about the relationship between practice organization and burnout. This cross-sectional study uses secondary data supplied by practicing physicians from the 2017 American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) Family Medicine Certification examination registration questionnaire, a mandatory component of registration, yielding a 100% response rate. Burnout in family physicians should not be attributed solely to practice organization. No single practice type or ownership status was independently associated with burnout, which indicates that any practice can attempt to mitigate burnout.