A national survey of board-certified emergency physicians: quality of care and practice structure issues

The opinions and experiences of board-certified emergency physicians regarding employment structure and finances, professional society policies, and quality of patient care have never been formally studied. A survey questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 1,050 emergency physicians certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine. The survey contained 29 multiple choice questions. Of the 1,050, 465 (44.3%) of the surveys were returned. Respondents averaged 13.5 years of emergency medicine practice, 83% were members of the American College of Emergency Physicians, and 44% were emergency medicine residency trained. Seventy-five percent felt they had been financially exploited by the emergency department contract holder and 49% considered leaving their employer because of unfair business practices. Fifteen percent have been terminated without due process/peer review, and 11% have been forced to leave a position, move, or pay compensation because of noncompete clauses. The majority reported encountering instances of substandard emergency medical care, most commonly in settings with multihospital contract company coverage. The majority also believe their specialty societies should address issues of employment structure and quality of patient care standards.