Healthcare's annual checkup

1,000+ clinicians speak out on what matters

After surveying more than 1,000 physicians nationwide across specialties, practice sizes, and locations, this report examines how AI, policy changes, evolving care models, and financial pressures are shaping where healthcare may be headed next. Explore the interactive findings below to see what’s influencing physician perspectives across the industry. Here’s a snapshot of what we found:

52%

of physicians polled say access to care is the most critical issue, making it the fastest-growing policy concern and surpassing documentation burden

42%

of physicians surveyed say AI reduces administrative burden, up from 37% in 2025

67%

of physicians polled feel financially stable today, yet 39% worry about long-term financial feasibility

Research driving the conversation

Showing signals for:

Financial health

Financially steady but under pressure

Physicians say they’re on stable financial ground today, but the future feels less certain. As complexity increases, practices are rethinking what financial resilience looks like — a shift you can see using the interactive dropdowns.

Healthcare policy

A new #1 concern: Access to affordable care

Even more than minimizing their own documentation burden, physicians want policy makers to prioritize patient access to affordable care. No other policy issue comes close.

VBC

Interested in VBC but wary of taking on risk

Physicians see the potential of value-based care, but their comfort with shared risk remains low. Their barriers are structural: resource constraints, administrative burdens, uncertainty about financial accountability.

AI: Relief for some, others still skeptical

Does AI have a place in healthcare? One thing is clear: physicians who do use it are more optimistic about healthcare than those who don’t.

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Source

2026 Physician Sentiment Survey of 1,045 physicians nationwide, commissioned by athenahealth and fielded by Harris Poll.