Turnover of primary care physicians (PCPs) results in about $979 million in excess healthcare expenditures per year, a considerable proportion of which is attributable to PCP burnout, according to a study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Christine A. Sinsky, MD, and colleagues estimated excess healthcare expenditures attributable to overall and burnout-specific PCP turnover using data from a cross-sectional survey of US physicians conducted between October 12, 2017 and March 15, 2018. For public and private payers, PCP turnover resulted in about $979 million in excess healthcare expenditures each year. PCP burnout-related turnover accounted for $260 million. “Turnover of primary care physicians is costly to public and private payers, yet there is an opportunity to decrease unnecessary healthcare expenditures by reducing burnoutrelated turnover,” Dr. Sinsky said in a statement.
