Physician burnout has become ‘widespread,’ Radiology Partners warns Medicare program

Physician burnout has become “widespread” due, in part, to continued declines in reimbursement and rising administrative obligations, Radiology Partners warned in comments recently submitted to CMS.   

These stressors, “coupled with the burden of running a business and practicing medicine” are all combining to weigh down members of the specialty. Medicare cuts have been particularly “severe” in radiology, the El Segundo, California-based practice noted. 

Between 2005 and 2021, reimbursement per beneficiary declined approximately 25%, despite a double-digit increase in relative value unit productivity, RP said, citing a 2023 study. 

“This implies that radiologists are working harder to meet increasing clinical demand but are being paid less,” Richard Heller III, MD, senior VP of health policy, and 28 other Rad Partners leaders wrote to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure on Sept. 9. “This is undoubtedly contributing to burnout, which is widely reported among radiologists and contributes to early retirement from the practice of medicine.”

Unpredictable and “often meaningful” Medicare reimbursement changes hinder a practice’s operations, “thereby directly impacting its ability to care for Medicare beneficiaries and other patients,” RP noted.  

These cuts come despite the rising cost of delivering care. Over 90% of physicians indicated that operating expenses are higher than in 2023, according to a recent survey from the American Medical Association. 

“Radiology Partners believes that the patient-physician relationship is central to high-quality care, which is being threatened due to the financial instability for Medicare providers and is contributing to the physician shortage and burnout of the remaining physicians,” RP wrote. 

Heller et al. urged CMS to consider ways to halt payment cuts to interventional and diagnostic radiology and preserve access to imaging-based patient care. They also highlighted the rising cost of doing business. Since the physician fee schedule was implemented in the early 1990s, there has been a migration from hospital-based care to the office setting. The effect of this transition has been the inclusion of expensive supplies and equipment in the fee schedule. Due to budget neutrality requirements, this has resulted in fewer resources available to support Medicare providers. 

“Radiology Partners encourages CMS to work with Congress to address high-priced supplies and equipment within the PFS, including support for efforts by CMS to separately identify and pay for high-cost disposable supplies priced in excess of $500 outside of PFS budget neutrality,” RP wrote. 

You can read the full letter here.