ACPE survey: Growing acceptance of employed physicians

Thanks to improved communication, greater transparency, better physician job satisfaction and a more patient-centered focus, more healthcare leaders and the physicians they employ approve of the integrated physician model , according to a survey conducted by the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE).

“This is a strong and important trend that is essential for healthcare to become more successful in delivering what the public actually wants,” said Peter Angood, MD, MCCM, president and CEO of ACPE, in a release. “The ultimate goal is higher quality, safer care that’s more efficient, more personalized and is really customer-focused as an industry.”

The survey, which was sent electronically to ACPE members and completed by 617, found that 80 percent of participants either agreed or strongly agreed that the employed physicians within their healthcare organization were satisfied with the current integrated physician model. The vast majority (85 percent) also either agreed or strongly agreed that administrators were satisfied.

Not all of the ACPE survey participants were enthusiastic supporters of the employed physician model. Some said there were still some serious flaws, particularly in the areas of physician engagement and alignment. A slim majority, 53 percent, said employed physicians were fully integrated into their hospital or health system.

Likewise, when asked whether their organization had an incentive plan to encourage and reward physicians for being engaged in practice performance initiatives, the results were nearly evenly split, with 51 percent saying “yes."

Survey respondents also were asked to name the elements essential for success as an employed physician model and the most popular answers were appropriate IT support, aligned incentives and, most notably, strong physician leadership.

“The C-suite needs to bring physicians to the table (employed and voluntary) and discuss performance improvement and financial success and have the physicians share ideas,” wrote Patrice Hirning, MD, an internal medicine physician from Salt Lake City.

See complete survey results.