It is a decision that deserves the same clarity and intentionality you brought to every major clinical decision of your career.

By Michael Tetreault, Editor-in-Chief
Concierge Medicine Today
CMT Leadership Hub

We cover concierge and membership medicine. That’s our lane, and we’re proud of it.

But we’d be doing a disservice to the physicians who read us if we only talked about the path that keeps doctors practicing. Because the truth — the one that comes out in the honest conversations, the ones that happen after the conference day ends — is that some physicians don’t need a better practice model. They need permission to stop.

That’s not a failure. In most cases, it’s wisdom.

This article is for the physician who has looked at the concierge option — genuinely looked at it — and realized that what they’re feeling isn’t a desire for a different kind of practice. It’s a desire to finish this chapter of their career with dignity, financial security, and some runway left to live the rest of their life on their own terms. It’s for the physician who built something real, saw a lot of patients, gave a lot of years, and now needs to think clearly about what an exit from medicine altogether actually looks like.

The CMT Leadership Hub infographic on physician exit strategy — The Physician’s Exit Strategy: From Burnout to a Successful Practice Sale — applies directly here, too. Because whether you’re transitioning into concierge medicine or transitioning out of medicine entirely, the same principles govern how well you exit: how early you started planning, how clearly you understood the value of what you built, and how honestly you chose the path that was right for you — not the one that sounded best to someone else.

The Numbers Are Real, and They’re Not Going Away

Let’s start with the data, because it establishes that what you might be feeling is not unusual, is not weakness, and is not something the healthcare industry at-large can afford to ignore.

According to Medscape’s 2023 Physicians Eye Retirement Report, approximately two in three physicians expect or hope to retire by their mid- to late 60s. Nearly 70% of physicians in their 40s want to retire in their 50s or early 60s. For hospitalists specifically, 28% expressed a desire to retire in their 50s.

The American Medical Association’s data shows that between 2021 and 2022, 40% of physicians had moderate interest in leaving their current organization within two years, were likely to do so, or would definitely do so. And the MGMA found in a September 2024 poll that 27% of medical groups had a physician leave or retire early due to burnout that year alone.

Those numbers don’t describe people who failed.

They describe a workforce under sustained structural pressure — persistent burnout, administrative overload, declining autonomy, and a healthcare system that routinely asks physicians to absorb costs and complexity that belong to the system itself. The AMA’s most recent comparison report found that 43.2% of physicians still reported at least one burnout symptom in 2024, down from a pandemic peak of 62.8% in 2021, but still nearly half the profession.

The Association of American Medical Colleges has projected a shortage of up to 124,000 physicians by 2034. That shortage will be driven in part by physicians who leave sooner than the system expected them to. Understanding that you are part of a documented, structural pattern — not an individual outlier — matters for how you think about what comes next.

Sources: Medscape, Physicians Eye Retirement Report, December 2023; American Medical Association National Physician Comparison Report, 2024; AMA, “40% of Doctors Eye Exits,” 2023; MGMA Stat Poll, September 2024; Association of American Medical Colleges, Physician Workforce Projections, March 2024.

The Financial Reality — Because Wanting to Leave and Being Ready to Leave Are Two Different Things

This is the section most physicians are afraid to look at directly. We’re going to make it as clear as we can, with the caveat we mean sincerely: nothing in this article is financial advice, and you need a qualified financial advisor who understands physician-specific planning to make any of these decisions with confidence.

That said — here is the honest picture.

Medscape’s 2023 retirement survey found that physicians believe they need an average of $3.9 million saved to retire comfortably, significantly outpacing the $1.3 million that most Americans estimate needing. The average physician surveyed had approximately $3 million in savings, suggesting most are closer to that target than they might feel — but not necessarily there yet, and not necessarily structured correctly to get there.

According to Medscape’s 2024 retirement data, men placed their target retirement number at approximately $4.1 million; women placed it at $3.6 million. A commonly used planning framework — the 4% rule — suggests that a physician spending $200,000 annually in retirement would need approximately $5 million in investable assets to sustain that level of spending over a 25–30 year retirement. Tax structure matters enormously: a portfolio held primarily in pre-tax retirement accounts has a real value significantly lower than its face value, as Medical Economics has documented in physician retirement planning coverage.

One thing that catches many retiring physicians off guard: only about 14% of physicians, according to Medscape’s retirement survey data cited by Healthgrades, factor in the sale of their practice as part of their retirement savings plan. This is largely a reflection of the fact that most physicians have become employees of health systems or medical groups, where practice equity doesn’t exist in the traditional sense. But for physicians who do own their practice, understanding what it’s worth — and building that into the exit plan — can be significant. The CMT exit strategy infographic and the valuation framework it outlines apply directly here.

Sources: Medscape, Physicians Eye Retirement Report, December 2023; Medscape, Physician Burnout & Depression Report, 2024; Medical Economics, “Retirement Planning Secrets for Physicians”; Healthgrades, “Physician Retirement and Planning: 9 Insights”; Lexington Medical Society / Ballast Financial Planning, “Physician Finances: How Much Do I Need to Retire?”

The Practice Value Question — Even If You’re Not Going to Concierge

If you own your practice and you’re planning to exit medicine entirely, the valuation conversation still matters. It is often the conversation that gets avoided the longest and costs the most.

The CMT infographic (above) distinguishes between EBOK (Earnings Before Owner’s Compensation) and IBITA frameworks for understanding what a practice is worth to a buyer — the core question being: what will this generate after the physician who built it is gone? That question applies whether you are selling to another physician, to a hospital system, or to a private equity group.

According to FOCUS Investment Banking’s 2026 Medical Practice Valuation Guide, most physician practice transactions are underwritten on an EBITDA basis. Smaller primary care practices typically trade in the range of 3x to 6x EBITDA. Larger, well-documented platforms with stable patient bases and clean financials can command 5x to 10x. The spread between a well-prepared and an unprepared practice — in terms of documentation, financial presentation, and patient retention — represents significant real money. Enough money, often, to materially change what a retirement looks like.

The 3–5 year planning runway the infographic describes is not just for physicians transitioning into concierge medicine. It is for every physician who owns a practice and intends to exit. The physicians who start that process early — who clean up their financials, document their systems, and build a practice that can be understood and evaluated clearly by a buyer — consistently leave with better outcomes than those who wait until the decision is urgent.

Sources: FOCUS Investment Banking, Medical Practice Valuation 2026 Guide; Flychain, “Selling Your Practice 101,” 2026; HealthFMV, “Valuing Primary Care Practices in 2025.”

The Questions Worth Sitting With

Before any financial modeling or valuation conversation, there are some honest personal questions that no advisor can answer for you.

1. Are you leaving because you’re done — or because you’re depleted? Those are different. A physician who is genuinely done has a clarity about it that is different from the desperate exhaustion of burnout. Burnout, treated and given space, sometimes reveals a physician who still loves medicine and just needed the weight lifted. True readiness to exit has a different texture. Knowing which one you’re in matters for the decisions you make.
2. What do you actually want the next chapter to look like — and have you tested that picture against reality? Medscape’s retirement survey found that 67% of physicians were extremely or very confident that retirement would be rewarding. Travel was the most commonly cited way to spend time. What the survey also showed — in the responses of physicians further into retirement — is that the identity transition is real and often harder than the financial one. Medicine is not just a job for most physicians. It is a major source of purpose, structure, and identity. Planning for that transition thoughtfully is at least as important as the financial planning.
3. Do you have people around you who have done this well? The physicians we’ve watched exit with the most grace and financial security were rarely the ones who figured it all out alone. They had financial advisors who understood physician-specific planning. They had peers who had already made the transition. They had, often, a sense of community that held them through a passage that can feel isolating from the outside.

What We’d Actually Say to You

If you’ve read this far, you’re thinking about this seriously. And that seriousness is exactly the right starting point.

Leaving medicine is not a small thing. It is also not a shameful thing. It is a decision that deserves the same clarity and intentionality you brought to every major clinical decision of your career. The physicians we’ve seen do it well are the ones who asked hard questions early, got honest advice, and built a plan that was actually theirs — not the one that was easiest to defend to someone else.

The CMT Leadership Hub infographic library includes research and data on patient retention, practice value, exit strategy, and the structural forces shaping this industry. It was built to make the thinking clearer, whatever the decision turns out to be.

That includes this one.

Explore the full CMT infographic library at https://conciergemedicinetoday.net/lead/infographics.

The Concierge Medicine Forum returns October 15–17, 2026, in Atlanta, GA. Learn more here: https://conciergemedicinetoday.net/live-events

Sources & Citations

1. Medscape. *Physicians Eye Retirement Report.* December 2023. Cited in: The DO / American Osteopathic Association. [https://thedo.osteopathic.org/2024/03/nearly-70-of-doctors-in-their-40s-want-to-retire-in-their-50s-or-early-60s-survey-reveals/](https://thedo.osteopathic.org/2024/03/nearly-70-of-doctors-in-their-40s-want-to-retire-in-their-50s-or-early-60s-survey-reveals/)

2. Becker’s ASC Review. *Can Physicians Afford to Retire?* Citing Medscape 2023 Retirement Survey. [https://www.beckersasc.com/asc-news/can-physicians-afford-to-retire.html](https://www.beckersasc.com/asc-news/can-physicians-afford-to-retire.html)

3. American Medical Association. *National Physician Comparison Report, 2024.* [https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/physician-health/us-physician-burnout-hits-lowest-rate-covid-19](https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/physician-health/us-physician-burnout-hits-lowest-rate-covid-19)

4. American Medical Association. *”40% of Doctors Eye Exits.”* 2023. [https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/sustainability/40-doctors-eye-exits-what-can-organizations-do-keep-them](https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/sustainability/40-doctors-eye-exits-what-can-organizations-do-keep-them)

5. Medical Group Management Association. *MGMA Stat Poll: Physician Burnout Still a Major Factor.* September 2024. [https://www.mgma.com/mgma-stat/physician-burnout-still-major-factor-even-as-unexpected-turnover-eases](https://www.mgma.com/mgma-stat/physician-burnout-still-major-factor-even-as-unexpected-turnover-eases)

6. Association of American Medical Colleges. *Physician Workforce Projections, March 2024.* Cited in Grand View Research, 2024.

7. Healthgrades. *Physician Retirement and Planning: 9 Insights.* April 2025. [https://resources.healthgrades.com/pro/retirement-planning-among-physicians](https://resources.healthgrades.com/pro/retirement-planning-among-physicians)

8. Medical Economics. *Retirement Planning Secrets for Physicians.* [https://www.medicaleconomics.com/view/retirement-planning-secrets-for-physicians](https://www.medicaleconomics.com/view/retirement-planning-secrets-for-physicians)

9. Lexington Medical Society / Ballast Financial Planning. *Physician Finances: How Much Do I Need to Retire?* May 2024. [https://www.lexingtondoctors.org/2024/05/24/physician-finances-how-much-do-i-need-to-retire/](https://www.lexingtondoctors.org/2024/05/24/physician-finances-how-much-do-i-need-to-retire/)

10. FOCUS Investment Banking. *Medical Practice Valuation 2026 Guide.* [https://focusbankers.com/medical-practice-valuation/](https://focusbankers.com/medical-practice-valuation/)

11. HealthFMV. *Valuing Primary Care Practices in 2025: A Comprehensive Guide.* May 2025. [https://www.healthfmv.com/post/primary-care-physician-practice-valuation-guide](https://www.healthfmv.com/post/primary-care-physician-practice-valuation-guide)

12. Flychain. *Selling Your Practice 101: What Every Practice Owner Should Know.* 2026. [https://www.flychain.us/resources/selling-your-practice-101-what-every-practice-owner-should-know](https://www.flychain.us/resources/selling-your-practice-101-what-every-practice-owner-should-know)

Content is for general informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical, legal, financial, or professional advice. Physicians should consult qualified legal, financial, and retirement planning advisors before making any decisions related to career transitions or practice exit. © 2026 Concierge Medicine Today, LLC. All rights reserved.