Poll: Physicians Bearish on Healthcare Reform
Cheryl Clark, for HealthLeaders Media , January 20, 2011 A national survey of 2,958 physicians indicates "frustration and dismay in a time of change," according to a report by Thomson Reuters and HCPlexus.
For example, 65% of the doctors said they believe healthcare will deteriorate in the next five years, while 18% said it will improve and 17% said it will stay the same. The reasons given ranged from their political views of healthcare reform, to "anger directed at insurance companies and a lack of accurate planning in the reform act," according to the report.
When asked what kind of healthcare professional will treat the 32 million currently uninsured Americans who will have access to healthcare under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, respondents said that nurse practitioners will see as many patients as primary care physicians. The survey revealed that many patients will be seen by physician assistants.
Physicians who responded to the survey also said they believe that under PPACA, they will be treated less fairly when they submit claims for reimbursement. The survey was conducted in September, 2010.
"Physicians overall have a clear frustration with the non-physician providers' compensation, which is comparable to primary care physicians, citing that nurse practitioners and physician assistants are not as well trained or as educated," the report says.
Physicians were significantly pessimistic in their responses to the question about the impact the new legislation will have on patients, with 58% saying it will have a negative effect and 27% saying it will have a positive effect.
In one of the most surprising responses, 45% of doctors who answered the survey said "they did not know what an accountable care organization is...It appears there ha been a lack of physician education in this area. And for those who did know what an ACO is, no physician category or specialty had more than 17% of its respondents who said 'yes' when asked if they were participating in discussions to form an ACO.
Asked about the impact of electronic medical records on patient care, physician response was less one-sided. While 24% were negative about the impact, 39% were positive and 37% neutral.
The report includes written verbatim comments from some of the physicians who responded. For example, a dermatologist in Colorado said his practice "has had EMR in place for three years and would never go back to paper charts. We have two offices and EMR makes it easier to keep track of patients at both sites."
However, another dermatologist in Arizona said he thinks EMR "interferes with the patient-doctor interaction. You cannot record your patients' answer and still maintain eye contact and watch the patient's body language as you proceed with the interview."
The survey divided the respondents up by medical practice and response. For example, 908 responders identified themselves as internists, family practice or general practice physicians, or primary care physicians.
While PCP doctors were generally positive about the future of healthcare, the 245 doctors who identified themselves as pediatricians and psychiatrists were the most optimistic.
Dermatologists were the most negative, with not one of the 73 who responded "felt (that the) PPACA would have a positive impact on physicians."
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Cheryl Clark is a senior editor and California correspondent for HealthLeaders Media Online. She can be reached at cclark@healthleadersmedia.com. Follow Cheryl Clark on Twitter.
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http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/print/LED-261601/Poll-Physicians-Bearish-on-Healthcare-Reform
