Anesthesiologists Express Frustration with the “Business”
of Medicine
LocumTenens.com Physician Survey Shows Reimbursement, Administration as Key
Frustrations
Alpharetta, Ga., October 11, 2007—“I'd pay doctors and nurses like professional
athletes!” That was one anesthesiologist’s unaided answer to the physician
survey question, “If you could change one thing about practicing medicine, what
would it be?”
Among more than 300 other anesthesiologist responses to the 2007 national
physician survey conducted in summer 2007 by physician recruiting firm
LocumTenens.com were these:
- “I would return the patient-doctor relationship to one of greater trust and cut
out the intervention of the "suits" who deem what is and is not necessary in a
patient's care.”
- “Get the government and insurance companies to quit micromanaging medicine.
- “The dehumanization brought on by over-emphasis on efficiency and cost
savings.”
“After spending a decade of their lives in education and training and often
accumulating great debt in the process, physicians are understandably
frustrated by the limits within which they must work in today’s healthcare
marketplace,” LocumTenens.com Vice President Lisa Kaeck said. “The high
frustration level pushes many
anesthesiologists into locum tenens work, where
they can enjoy practicing pure medicine.” She noted that anesthesiologists from
across the country will be gathering for the American Society of
Anesthesiologists annual convention in San Francisco beginning this Saturday,
October 13.
Anesthesiologists Identify Frustrations
Among 419 anesthesiologists responding to the LocumTenens.com physician survey,
only 6% said they were not frustrated about practicing medicine in today’s
healthcare marketplace. Remaining respondents identified with a list of
possible physician frustrations as follows:
- Reimbursement issues – 29%
- Administrative and business agendas interfere with clinical decisions – 20%
- Medical liability issues – 15%
- Lifestyle issues: Too much time at work – 14%
- Federal regulations, policies, procedures – 12%
Twenty-eight percent of responding anesthesiologists said they planned to
change jobs within the next year and, including those, 37% said they planned to
change jobs within 2 years. Thirty-three percent of respondents cited ‘higher
compensation’ as the top reason for making a job change, while 31% cited
‘better work environment.’ However, 55% said they had no plans to change jobs
in the foreseeable future (up from 53% of 2006 respondents). To see
LocumTenens.com’s complete 2007 anesthesiologist salary survey results, click
here: http://www.locumtenens.com/anes-comp07.
In spite of their frustration, more than two-thirds of anesthesiologists
responding to the physician survey (69%) said they would choose medicine as a
career path if they had it to do over again. This represents a
three-percentage-point increase from the 66% of responding anesthesiologists
who said they’d choose medicine again in LocumTenens.com’s 2006 physician
survey, and with 2007 respondents from other specialties as follows:
- 79% of psychiatrists
- 77% of cardiologists
- 76% of internists
- 75% of pediatricians
- 65% of general surgeons, orthopedic surgeons and radiologists
- 59% of obstetricians/gynecologists
Seventy-eight percent of anesthesiologist survey participants were male, 78%
were board-certified and 80% were employed full-time. Respondents had practiced
medicine for an average of 16 years. Almost half (48%) of respondents said they
had worked as a locum tenens
provider and another 46% said they might consider
it. Those who reported working locum tenens said they do so for about four
months per year.
Founded in 1995, LocumTenens.com is a full-service physician/CRNA recruiting
firm specializing in
anesthesiology jobs, cardiology jobs, psychiatry jobs,
radiology jobs, surgery jobs and CRNA jobs with U.S. hospitals, medical groups
and community health centers. LocumTenens.com is part of the Jackson Healthcare
Solutions family of companies. To learn more, visit
http://www.locumtenens.com/welcome.
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