In MedCentral's 2026 survey of 812 physicians, 44% said they had considered leaving medical practice since January, up from 35% a year earlier. Retirement is now the top reason, at 29.5% of those who considered leaving.
MedCentral fielded the survey online from May 5 to May 26, 2026, and published results on July 2, 2026. Respondents came from the site and its newsletters, so the sample is self-selected. It leans toward clinicians who read a physician news site. The numbers show direction and not a count of departures. Respondents who considered leaving may stay, and the survey did not track what they did next.
How many physicians think about leaving?
Of the 812 physicians (MDs and DOs), 44% answered yes when asked if they had considered leaving practice in 2026. The 2025 figure was 35%, a rise of 9 percentage points. Of the 812 respondents, 51% worked in a private office, individual or group. Another 22% worked in academic hospitals, 10.5% in non-academic hospitals, and 8% in community or government outpatient clinics.
Internists made up 18% of the sample and family physicians 17.5%. Psychiatry and behavioral health made up 11%, cardiology 6% and gastroenterology 5.5%. Suburban practices accounted for 47% of respondents, urban 40% and rural 11.5%.
Why physicians say they would leave
MedCentral asked those who had considered leaving to name the main reason. Timely retirement led at 29.5%, almost double the 16% who gave it in 2025. Personal burnout fell from 31% to 25%. Early retirement came third at 16%.
| Main reason for considering leaving | Share of those considering leaving, 2026 | 2025 share |
|---|---|---|
| On-time retirement | 29.5% | 16% |
| Personal burnout | 25% | 31% |
| Early retirement | 16% | Not reported |
| Too many policy shifts | 10% | Not reported |
| Too many clinical demands | 9.5% | Not reported |
| Not enough income | 5.5% | Not reported |
Source: MedCentral, The Evolution of Medical Practice 2026, 812 physicians, May 2026. Shares are percentages of respondents who considered leaving, and MedCentral rounded them.
Income ranked last. Only 5.5% of the group named it as the main reason. Retirement of both kinds, on time and early, added up to 45.5% of those answers.
Income and payment models in the same survey
Physicians in the survey described flat income. Of the 812, 64% said practice income stayed about the same over the past year. The same answer drew 62% in 2025 and 61% in 2024. In 2026, 17% reported an increase and 19% reported a decrease.
On payment models, 65.5% said their practice, clinic or hospital uses fee-for-service, including Medicare and Medicaid payments. Bundled or episode-based payments were used by 11%, capitation by 8.5% and accountable care organizations by 7.5%. When asked for a preference, 62% chose fee-for-service and 14% chose capitation.
The payment mix shapes the cost of a departure. A practice that bills mostly fee-for-service loses visit revenue as soon as a full-time physician leaves.
How old is the physician workforce?
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) counted 1,032,365 active physicians in the United States in 2024. Of these, 23.9% were aged 65 or older, up from 23.2% in 2022. Only 16.9% were under age 40, so physicians aged 65 or older outnumbered those under 40 by 7.0 percentage points.
Applied to the 2024 total, 23.9% works out to about 246,700 physicians aged 65 or older. That headcount is a calculation from AAMC's percentage and total, not a figure AAMC published.
The share varies by state. AAMC reported the lowest share of physicians aged 65 or older in Utah, at 17.0%, followed by Minnesota at 19.6%. Puerto Rico had 40.7%. A practice in a state with an older workforce faces a larger pool of possible retirements than the national 23.9% suggests.
What the numbers mean for staffing plans
Two sources and two different groups give one signal. In MedCentral's survey, 44% of physicians had thought about leaving, and 45.5% of those cited some form of retirement. In AAMC's data, nearly 1 in 4 active physicians is already 65 or older.
Multiply these out for a ten-physician group as an illustration. If 23.9% of its physicians are 65 or older, that is about 2.4 physicians. If 44% have considered leaving, that is 4.4. These are national rates applied to a small group, so a real practice will differ. Pull the actual ages from the roster and compare.
Start with each physician's age and share of visit volume. A 65-year-old who carries 15% of visits is a different planning problem from one who carries 5%.
MedCentral's survey also found that 55% of physicians saw their chronic disease caseload grow in the past year, up from 51% in 2025. Patients with chronic conditions need ongoing visits, so a departure leaves a panel that needs a new clinician and not just an open slot.
The survey also measured daily strain. Stress management or burnout was the hardest part of work for 49% of respondents, and 16% named collaborative care planning. Only 10% said they regularly see a mental health professional. Mentorship was thin as well: 72% had no professional mentor, while 56% had served as a mentor to others.
Technology use moved quickly. In 2026, 67% of respondents used AI in some capacity at work and 31% did not. Among respondents, 66% reported no AI use at work in 2024 and 50% in 2025. Documentation and diagnostic support were the most common uses.
Sources
- MedCentral, The Evolution of Medical Practice 2026: How Physicians Are Navigating Rising Complexity Amid Stagnant Pay, July 2, 2026
- AAMC, 2025 Physician Specialty Data Report Key Findings (2024 data)
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