Salt Lake City, October 18, 2018 –Today, Leavitt Partners released “Examining Pessimism Among Physicians: 2017 Survey on Physicians’ Outlook on the Practice of Medicine,” a white paper that investigates associations between certain physician characteristics and a pessimistic outlook on the practice of medicine.
The paper discusses findings from a national survey of 621 physicians. Leavitt Partners Health Intelligence Partners administered the survey through Qualtrics between June 2017 and July 2017.
The survey found that 38 percent of physicians reported having a pessimistic outlook. The authors found only a few correlations between physician characteristics and pessimism, which indicates that pessimism afflicts all types of physicians. Still, certain physicians were more likely to report a pessimistic outlook:
- Physicians who lacked confidence in the financial stability and administrative management of their practices were the most likely to report feeling pessimistic.
- Physicians who were dissatisfied with their electronic medical records system were more likely to report feeling pessimistic.
- Pessimism among physicians was also associated with physicians who reported no plans to participate in certain value-based payment models.
These findings provide insight into specific actions that can be taken to improve physicians’ outlook on the practice of medicine. First, the authors discuss how policy makers can work to strengthen medical practices, especially among small or solo group practitioners, enabling physicians to have more confidence in the financial stability and administrative management of their practices. Second, continuing efforts to develop user-friendly electronic medical records may help to curb physician pessimism. Finally, because pessimistic physicians are less likely to participate in value-based payment models, policy makers and other stakeholders should consider physician satisfaction when developing new, and refining existing, alternative payment models.
The white paper can be viewed here.
About Leavitt Partners:
Leavitt Partners is a health care intelligence business. The firm helps clients successfully navigate the evolving role of value in health care by informing, advising, and convening industry leaders on value market analytics, alternative payment models, federal strategies, insurance market insights, and alliances. Through its family of businesses, the firm provides investment support, data and analytics, member-based alliances, and direct services to clients to support decision-making strategies in the value economy. For more information please visit www.LeavittPartners.com.