An attitudinal assessment of faculty practice plans

An awareness of potential conflict between medical schools and private practice prompted an attitudinal assessment of faculty practice plans (FPPs). A representative sample of eight medical school FPPs in seven different communities was selected for study. For each FPP, a sample of health care leaders, stratified at different levels of administrative responsibility, was selected from academic medical centers and from community settings. Topics for FPP assessment were chosen for their relevance to physician and lay administrators involved with academic and community practice. Questions were answered on a yes-no basis and were graded by intensity of response. Although only two of the questions revealed statistical disparity on a simple yes-no basis, the intensity of response differed significantly in eight of the 14 questions asked. This study gives consideration to the strategic implications of FPPs for universities, medical schools, and organized medicine.