Which Practice Conditions Are Driving Physician Distress?

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Direct Primary Care is the Cure

The Physicians Foundation released findings from its 2026 Survey of America’s Physicians, How Practice Conditions Shape Physician Wellbeing, examining differences in wellbeing by employment setting, gender, age, and geography. Here is the full article.

Obviously, the well-being of doctors is important, and I don’t want to denigrate their attempt to help us physicians. Here are some of the results of the survey:

  • 67% of employed physicians experienced inappropriate feelings of anger, tearfulness, or anxiety in the past year, compared with 54% of independent physicians.
  • 34% of employed physicians cite organizational policies, productivity expectations, or internal pressures that limit clinical autonomy as a contributor to distress—more than twice the share of independent physicians (13%).
  • Only 23% of female physicians report either a great deal of or complete control over expected patient volume, compared with 36% of male physicians.

The survey coincided with National Physician Suicide Awareness Day (#NPSADay), which was on September 17. In an attempt to fix all this (Burnout, Physician Distress, Moral Injury, etc.) they listed the following activities.


2026 Physician Wellbeing Activities

  • Physician and Practitioner Wellness Podcast
  • Suicide Prevention Guide to Treat At-Risk Patients
  • Mental Health as a Vital Sign: Addressing Health Professionals’ Suicide Risk and Enhancing Mental Health
  • Claiming Your Time and Energy: Boundary Strategies for Busy Clinicians
  • International Conference on Physician Health™ 2026
  • WCMS Hiking Club® Sandy Mush Gameland
  • Medicine Together: Building Connection, Meaning, and Community
  • 2026 Interprofessional Mental Health, Recovery & Suicide Prevention Summit
  • Fireside Chat with Dr. Tammie Chang ’03 MD’07
  • When Physicians Become Patients: Providing Care for General Medical, Mental Health, and Substance Use Disorders
  • Journey to Joy in Medicine® — Support
  • Leave Work at Work: Practical Workflow Systems to Reduce Charting and Inbox Burnout
  • Beyond the Risk Assessment: Suicide Prevention Skills for Physicians
  • National Physician Suicide Awareness Day
  • Say Something: Suicide Prevention and Awareness for Family Physicians
  • ALL IN for Health Workers’ Mental Health
  • Caring for Wisconsin’s Caregivers: 2026 Healthcare Workforce Well-Being Summit
  • Burnout and Belonging in Equity Work

I am trying not to be mean here. Really, I am, but the above is the biggest bunch of nothingburger bullshit I have ever seen. Claiming your time and energy? Journey to joy? Burnout and belonging in equity work? Claiming Your Time and Energy: Boundary Strategies for Busy Clinicians?

Let’s fix this. Here is the activity I recommend:

Leaving an employed physician position and going into Direct Primary Care.

Done.

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About Douglas Farrago, MD

Dr. Farrago is a retired family physician based in Forest, Virginia. Since 2021, he has run DPCnews.com, a leading resource for the Direct Primary Care (DPC) movement. He is the author of three best-selling books on Direct Primary Care: The Official Guide to Starting Your Own Direct Primary Care Practice The Direct Primary Care Doctor’s Daily Motivational Journal Slowing the Churn in Direct Primary Care (While Also Keeping Your Sanity) In 2016, Dr. Farrago conceived the idea for the Direct Primary Care Alliance and co-founded the organization alongside other pioneering DPC physicians. He is widely recognized as a leading expert in the DPC model and frequently lectures to medical students, residents, and practicing physicians on how to successfully start and run their own DPC practices. Dr. Farrago sold his Direct Primary Care practice in October 2020.