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Practice trends influencing charity care
■ An occasional snapshot of current facts and trends in medicine.
Quick View. Posted May 5, 2008
Income pressures on doctors over the last decade have caused a shift away from solo practice and practice ownership.
| 1996-97 | 2000-01 | 2004-05 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income from practice of medicine | $180,930 | $170,850 | $168,122 |
| Physicians owning practice | 68.9% | 58.3% | 57.6% |
| Physicians in solo or two-physician practices | 40.7% | 36.1% | 34.0% |
| Physicians in small group practices | 19.3% | 21.0% | 19.4% |
| Physicians in medium or large group practices | 9.5% | 9.3% | 12.5% |
| Physicians in institutional practices | 19.3% | 22.2% | 22.3% |
| Physicians providing any charity care | 76.3% | 71.5% | 68.2% |
| Physicians accepting all new Medicaid patients | 51.1% | 51.9% | 52.1% |
| Physicians accepting no new Medicaid patients | 19.4% | 20.9% | 21.0% |
The financial and practice trends have, in turn, impacted charity care and acceptance of Medicaid patients, concludes a recent report, based on the Center for Studying Health System Change's Community Tracking Study Physician Surveys.
Source: "Effects of Changes in Incomes and Practice Circumstances on Physicians' Decisions to Treat Charity and Medicaid Patients," Milbank Quarterly, March
Copyright © 2008 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
