7 key findings on how physicians feel about their workload, morale, MACRA

The majority of physicians feel they have no time to see additional patients and aren’t feeling positive about the state of their profession, according to a survey conducted by the Physicians Foundation.

Here are seven key findings from the 2016 edition of the survey, which involved more than 17,000 physicians:

1.    A large majority (80 percent) of physicians reported feeling overextended or at capacity. This number remained relatively steady from the 2014 edition of the survey, when 81 percent reported having no time to take on additional patients. Most doctors (72 percent) blamed external demands like third party authorizations for “significantly detracting” from the care they can provide.

2.    More than half (54 percent) said morale about their profession was somewhat or very negative. Nearly half (49 percent) said they often or always experience feelings of burnout.

“Many physicians are dissatisfied with the current state of medical practice and are starting to opt out of traditional patient care roles,” said Walker Ray, MD, president of the Physicians Foundation and chair of its research committee. “By retiring, taking non-clinical roles or cutting back in various other ways, physicians are essentially voting with their feet and leaving the clinical workforce. This trend is to the detriment of patient access. It is imperative that all healthcare stakeholders recognize and begin to address these issues more proactively, to support physicians and enhance the medical practice environment.”

Some already reported limiting patient access, with 27 percent saying they don’t see Medicare patients and 36 percent saying the same of Medicaid beneficiaries.

3.    Only 20 percent said they were familiar with MACRA. Echoing an earlier physician survey, 56 percent reported being either somewhat or very unfamiliar with the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), despite its effects on reimbursement. Another 23 percent said they were neither unfamiliar nor unfamiliar with the law.

4.    Some 60 percent said electronic health records (EHRs) have detracted with interacting with patients. Only 11 percent of physicians said EHRs improved patient interaction. They were also a common cause of frustration, with 27 percent saying “inefficient EHR design and interoperability” as one of the least satisfying about medical practice.

5.    More physicians are employed by hospital, but most don’t see it as positive development. Nearly 58 percent of physicians reported being employed by a hospital, up from 44 percent in the 2012 edition of the survey. In the same, the number of doctors identifying as independent practitioners declined from 48 percent to 33 percent. However, 66 percent of physicians said they don’t believe this change in physician integration will decrease costs or improve care.

6.    They remain unsold on ACOs. Only 11 percent of physicians surveyed said accountable care organizations were likely to improve quality and decrease costs. 39 percent said they’re unlikely to have those effects, while another 28 percent said they weren’t sure of the ACO structure.

7.    Few give high marks for the Affordable Care Act. When asked to grade the ACA, 48 percent gave it a D or an F. Nearly a quarter (23 percent) said they would give it an A or B.