Nearly half of primary care physicians are experiencing burnout right now, and 55% have been feeling burnt out for more than a year, according to Tebra's 2025 Physician Burnout Survey.

The data reveals that primary care physicians report some of the highest burnout levels in medicine, driven by: 

In this article, we examine exactly where the pressure points are, from charting to inbox fatigue and more, and what practices are actually doing about it.

If you're a primary care physician right now, you're probably not surprised to hear that more than half of your colleagues are experiencing burnout symptoms. According to Tebra's survey, 71% of primary care providers report mental fatigue, while physical and emotional fatigue each affect over half of respondents.

The Commonwealth Fund's 2025 international survey found similar patterns. Approximately 43% of US primary care physicians reported burnout, the highest rate among the 10 countries studied. Canada and New Zealand tied for second at 38%.

The fulfillment picture tells a similar story. Only 36% of primary care physicians feel genuinely fulfilled in their current role, while 64% describe themselves as only somewhat or hardly fulfilled.

Yet despite the dissatisfaction, 65% have never or rarely considered switching specialties. The problem isn't primary care itself. It's the conditions surrounding the work.

Burnout in primary care looks different from burnout in emergency medicine or surgery. It's less about acute, high-stakes moments and more about the relentless accumulation of small demands: another chart to complete, another inbox message, another prior authorization.

Tebra's survey reveals a clear hierarchy of contributors:

Documentation consistently ranks as the top burnout driver. Many primary care physicians spend 2 hours on paperwork for every hour of direct patient care. The EHR, which was originally designed to improve efficiency, has become a source of frustration when it requires excessive clicks, redundant data entry, or after-hours charting.

The issue isn't just time — it's cognitive load. Switching between patient conversations and documentation fragments attention and erodes the satisfaction that comes from focused clinical work.

Patient expectations have shifted dramatically over the past decade. The rise of patient portals means inbox messages arrive around the clock, and many physicians feel pressure to respond quickly.

Research from Michigan Medicine shows that female physicians, in particular, receive more portal messages and spend more time on inbox management than their male colleagues.

Meanwhile, complex patients with multiple chronic conditions require more coordination, more documentation, and more follow-up, all within the same 15-minute visit window.

Prior authorizations, quality reporting, and compliance requirements add layers of administrative work that don't directly involve patient care. For many primary care physicians, completing a prior authorization form feels like an obstacle rather than a safeguard.

When technology works well, it reduces friction. When it doesn't, it amplifies frustration.

Poorly integrated systems, clunky interfaces, and workflows that don't match clinical reality all contribute to the sense that technology is working against providers rather than supporting them. Practices using AI-assisted documentation tools report completing notes 25% faster, which suggests the problem often lies with the specific technology rather than technology in general.

Burnout doesn't announce itself with a single dramatic moment. It accumulates quietly, in the extra hours spent charting after the last patient leaves, the dread that builds before opening the inbox, and the emotional distance that creeps into patient interactions.

Mental fatigue often appears first. Providers describe difficulty concentrating, making decisions, or staying present during visits. The cognitive demands of primary care become harder to sustain, particularly the need to synthesize complex information while managing uncertainty and coordinating care.

Physical fatigue follows. Sleep suffers. Energy drops. The body keeps score of chronic stress, even when the mind tries to push through.

Emotional fatigue is perhaps the most insidious. It shows up as depersonalization, a clinical term for the protective numbness that develops when empathy becomes too costly. Patients become cases. Interactions become transactions. The meaning that once animated the work fades.

For 45% of primary care physicians, burnout experiences remain private. They're rarely or never comfortable discussing mental health or burnout with peers. That isolation compounds the problem.

Burnout doesn't stay personal. It ripples outward into care quality, patient access, and practice sustainability.

Addressing burnout requires systemic changes, not just individual resilience. Tebra's survey shows that practices are responding with a mix of technology and staffing solutions:

Here's what the evidence suggests works:

Reduce documentation burden. AI-assisted documentation tools can significantly reduce charting time. Text accelerators, voice-to-text features, and smart templates help providers complete notes during or immediately after visits rather than at home.

Delegate inbox management. Not every patient message requires physician attention. Team-based inbox triage, where medical assistants or nurses handle routine requests, can reduce the volume that reaches providers.

Automate repetitive tasks. Appointment reminders, eligibility verification, and patient intake can all run automatically, freeing staff time and reducing the administrative friction that contributes to burnout.

Improve workflow efficiency. Sometimes the problem isn't the volume of work but how it flows. Practices that audit their workflows often find redundancies and bottlenecks that technology could eliminate.

Create space for recovery. Protected time and reasonable schedules matter, as do genuine breaks. Burnout recovery isn't just about working smarter. It's about working sustainably.

Looking for primary care-specific solutions? Explore Tebra for Primary Care. Schedule a free, personalized demo today.