Workplace violence in healthcare 2026: Medscape survey findings

A new Medscape report (login required) on security in medical workplaces has found stark differences in how safe physicians feel at work depending on their workplace setting. Roughly 43% of physicians from medical practice offices surveyed by Medscape feel only slightly protected from violence or worse, with 40% of those in hospitals agreeing.

On the flip side, nearly half of academic physicians feel at least reasonably well-protected at work, while only 33% of hospital physicians and 31% of medical practice office physicians feel at least reasonably well-protected. With an increase in aggressive behavior in the healthcare world in recent years, it could be expected that these workplaces would amp up their security and plans of action—however, the reality doesn’t seem to fully match up.

Physical security a more pressing issue today

Over 60% of physicians who work in medical practice offices told Medscape that physical security at work is a more pressing issue for them than it was three years ago, although incidents like car burglaries and medication theft have died down (thanks to an increase in camera access). And nearly 70% of hospital physicians said physical security at work is a more pressing issue than it was three years ago.

Three years before these physicians were surveyed, Medscape notes, the U.S. was in the “tail-end of the COVID-19 pandemic.” It appears that some workplaces have eased up too much on restrictions when shifting out of full pandemic mode—and physicians are now reporting an uptick in assaults.

Medscape’s report, which also covered the security measures each area of healthcare employment is taking, also noted that healthcare workplace violence has increased in recent years.

To create the report, Medscape surveyed over 1,300 U.S. physicians. Below are some additional highlights from the report.

• Outdoor cameras in common areas were the most frequently used security measure at medical practice offices, with 55% reporting their workplace had them. The number rose to 70% for those working at hospitals, healthcare organizations and outpatient clinics, and 73% for those in academic, research, military and government organizations.
• Nearly half of physicians at medical practice offices said they have access control in staff-only areas, whereas 67% of those at hospitals, healthcare organizations and outpatient clinic locations reported the same, and 72% from those in academic, research, military and government organizations said the same.
• In each category of healthcare employment, a majority of surveyed physicians reported that their clinical staff received incident response training, although reviews were mixed on whether the training was effective.
• At least half of surveyed physicians in each category of healthcare employment said they did not have privacy concerns with security measures.

Read the full report here (login required).

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