Tait RC, et al. - Researchers here investigated how physician burden is influenced by perceived levels of medical evidence (low vs high) and pain severity (4,6,8/10) among people with chronic pain and how burden then mediated expected clinical judgments. A total of 476 people with chronic pain were made to read vignettes delineating a hypothetical patient with diversified levels of medical evidence and pain severity from the perspective of a treating physician; following this, the patients rated the burden that patient care would pose, and made a range of clinical judgments. Physicians are considered as burdened by people with chronic pain if there is lack of medical evidence. The effects of medical evidence on clinical judgments were mediated by perceived burden. Less credibility and less chances to improve were perceived for more burdensome patients. Psychosocial dysfunction is perceived to be higher among more burdensome patients. Collaboration in chronic pain treatment may be undermined by perceived physician burden.