Doctors at corporate practices report struggles with burnout, broken equipment and delayed care
A new survey looking at how the “corporatization of medical practice ownership” is impacting physicians and care delivery found that business interests often clash with doing what’s right by patients.
Looking at responses from 1,003 doctors, the nonprofit Physician Advocacy Institute discovered that, broadly speaking, for-profit provider groups owned by insurers, private equity firms, and other non-hospital corporations, puts doctors into the uncomfortable position of having to worry about factors that drive revenue as part of their job of keeping patients healthy.
Nearly half (47%) of respondents said they feel pressure to prioritize patient volume over providing high-quality care. Further, 59% said they feel regularly pressured to keep patients within their health system, while 63% said they face corporate barriers when it comes time to refer patients to a provider or service run by a competitor.
All the same, 89% of doctors report they are satisfied with the quality of care they provide. However, 74% said patients often struggle to get timely access. Physicians also said they struggle dealing with faulty medical equipment, with 88% reporting they’ve experienced hurdles associated with broken or malfunctioning instruments or gear over the last year, raising questions about how speedy repairs are at corporate practices.
Underlying all of the above are issues with burnout. Roughly 88% of those surveyed said they experienced some level of burnout, and of them 36% report symptoms of burnout happening on a regular, persistent or constant basis.
Almost half of doctors are looking for new jobs, the Physician Advocacy Institute said. Common concerns seen across practice types, including prior authorization hurdles and the administrative burden of electronic health records, were also cited as causes of stress on the job, contributing to burnout and reducing the quality of patient care delivery.
The end of independence
Prior to the trend of practice and hospital consolidation, which the report pegs as beginning sometime around 2012, only 25% of physicians were employed by a group or company that they did not own. Currently, 82% of physicians are employed by hospitals or other corporate entities, and 64% of all physician practices are owned by investors or business interests.
The Physician Advocacy Institute said most doctors graduating from medical school today will never know independence. Only 28% of respondents have ever worked in a physician-owned practice at all.
“While the trend itself is well documented, far less is understood about how it shapes the day-to-day practice of medicine and the care patients receive,” the nonprofit wrote. “That question prompted recent survey research on the impact of corporate ownership on physicians’ practice experience.”
Respondents to the survey were screened to ensure they worked for a practice that is not physician-owned. All those surveyed also work in patient-facing roles more than 50% of the time, the Physician Advocacy Institute confirmed.
Its full report is available by clicking here.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.