Effects of second office and hospital consulting practices of physicians on rural communities

This research examined the prevalence of second offices and hospital consulting practices of physicians in Missouri, the characteristics of physicians participating in such practices, the change in availability of services through these practices, the characteristics of counties and hospitals involved, and the practice organization of participating physicians. The assessment of the factors was conducted within the conceptual framework of community and physician characteristics, practice form and organization, and health system resources. In 1993, 64 of the 93 nonmetropolitan counties in Missouri gained, on average, 1.3 full-time equivalent physicians through second office and hospital consulting practices. Eighteen nonmetropolitan counties lost, on average, 0.4 full-time equivalent physicians through these practices; 11 nonmetropolitan counties were not affected. The majority of physicians engaged in these two types of practices are nonprimary care specialists. Consequently, in addition to the net contribution to total physician service availability, many nonmetropolitan counties gained access locally to a wider variety of specialty services. This change in availability of physician services, not generally incorporated in decisions, needs to be considered when policy efforts are undertaken to change the spatial and specialty distribution of physicians.