![]() The typical physician in a direct care practice sees 600 patients, compared to a burnout-inducing 2,000 in a traditional practice.Ĭongress could spur the growth of direct primary care, and thus lessen the burden on doctors, by allowing patients to pay the monthly fee with tax-advantaged money from Health Savings Accounts. With lower overhead costs, doctors can see fewer patients and still make money. There's no insurance to deal with, so doctors need fewer administrative staff. Patients pay a monthly fee, generally between $25 and $85, to receive unlimited primary care services. Some physicians are cutting out the government by embracing a business model known as "Direct Primary Care." It's a throwback to the days when doctors treated patients, one on one, without regulators peering over their shoulder. Sixteen percent don't accept Medicaid at all. It's no wonder that 15 percent of providers limit the number of Medicaid patients they'll see. In fact, the payments doctors receive from government programs sometimes don't cover the cost of providing care to their beneficiaries. Medicare and Medicaid, which cover more than 128 million Americans, impose enormous regulatory burdens on doctors while paying them far less than private insurers. ![]() Thirty-eight percent listed such requirements as one of the two least satisfying things about their jobs. Government is responsible for the other thing on doctors' most-hated list - regulatory and insurance requirements. Half of doctors say EHRs increase costs, while fewer than one in ten say they save money. ![]() The EHR mandate didn't cut spending, either. And 66 percent say it's reduced the amount of time they spend with patients. More than half say the requirement has made them less efficient. Nearly 40 percent of doctors list EHR design as one of the two things they find least satisfying about their jobs. President Obama promised that forcing doctors to use EHRs would improve efficiency and reduce mistakes. Doctors had to show "meaningful use" of digital medical records starting in 2014 or risk seeing their Medicare and Medicaid payments cut. ![]() Meddlesome government regulations fuel this dissatisfaction and burnout.Ĭonsider the Obama administration's "electronic health records" mandate, which was included in the 2009 stimulus package. That's up from last year's projection of 104,900. Our nation will be short up to 121,300 doctors by 2030, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. Almost half say they wouldn't recommend medicine as a career to their children.Įarly retirements will exacerbate the growing doctor shortage. Seventeen percent say that they're retiring, and 12 percent want to find a job where they don't have to deal with patients. Forty-six percent of those surveyed by the Physicians Foundation plan to change career paths. Given this angst, it's no wonder that many doctors are exiting the field. Nearly two-thirds are pessimistic about the future of the medical profession. Eighty percent are overworked and overextended, meaning they have little time to take on more patients. More than three in four doctors feel burned out. This low level of job satisfaction among doctors is especially shocking since physicians have traditionally been some of the best-paid, most respected professionals in America.
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