The Medical Profession's Future: A Struggle Between Caring For Patients And Bottom-Line Pressures

Area of Science:

• Health Policy
• Medical Practice Management
• Physician Workforce Studies

Background:

• External quality measures are increasingly prevalent in healthcare.
• Physicians face growing administrative burdens from these measures.
• Concerns exist about the impact of these burdens on the medical profession and patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the time physicians spend on external quality measures.
• To explore how these requirements influence physician practice patterns.
• To understand the potential effects on patient access to care and the physician workforce.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of data from the 2014 Survey of America's Physicians: Practice Patterns and Perspectives.
• Examination of physician responses regarding time spent on quality measures and practice decisions.
• Statistical review of reported practice model changes and retirement intentions.

Main Results:

• Physicians in common specialties dedicate an average of 2.6 hours weekly to external quality measures.
• A significant portion of physicians report that practice intrusions are reshaping their professional decisions.
• Physicians indicate a likelihood to adopt practice models that may limit patient access or retire early.

Conclusions:

• The administrative demands of quality measures are altering the medical profession.
• These changes pose a risk to patient access to care.
• Early retirement and altered practice models may worsen existing physician shortages.