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2019 Health Care Trends
Florida doctors' working lives and outlook
Some 59% of Florida physicians have negative feelings — somewhat or very — on the current state of the profession. Similarly, 67% are somewhat or very negative about the future. Some 41.4% report often feeling burned out or are burned out.
That said, if they had it to do over, 69% would be doctors again, though 53% would advise their kids and young people against it. All those Florida readings are more negative than the national average.
Physician search and consulting firm Merritt Hawkins surveyed 461 Florida doctors as part of its 2018 national survey of 8,774 doctors for the non-profit Physicians Foundation in Columbia, S.C. The Florida results provide a snapshot of Florida doctors’ working lives and outlook. One takeaway: The existing electronic health record technology has a long way to go.
The Working Life
54.7% — Share of doctors working 51 to 81 or more hours per week
71.3% — Share who report spending at least 15 hours per week on paperwork
83% — Share of doctors who see at least 30 patients per day in a hospital or office
25.6% — Doctors who say they’re overworked and overextended
51.3% — Doctors who say they’re at full capacity
23.1% — Doctors who say they want more patients
Best two things about the job are
73% — Patient relationships
61% — Intellectual stimulation
Worst two things
65% — Regulatory/paperwork burdens
38% — Liability concerns
Compensation
44% — Percentage of doctors reporting their compensation is tied at least in part to performance on “quality” metrics
0-10% — Share of total compensation tied to such metrics
59.7% — Share who don’t believe value-based compensation will improve quality and cut costs
Hospitals
27.1% — Share of doctors reporting good relations with hospitals
49% — Share reporting negative and adversarial relations
64.5% — Share of doctors who disagree that hospital employment of doctors will improve quality of care and cut costs
Patient Care
75% — Share of doctors who believe that at least 40% of their patients don’t consistently follow the treatment plan
68.7% — Share of doctors reporting patient care is harmed a good deal or a great deal by external factors such as third-party insurer authorization, treatment protocols, electronic health record designs, etc.
Electronic records
23% — Improved care
42.7% — Detracted from care
22.9% — Improved efficiency
57.3% — Reduced efficiency
9.1% — Improved interaction with patients
47.1% — Detracted from interaction with patients
The future
In the next three years, doctors’ top four plans are (multiple choices were allowed):
54% — Carry on as is
23% — Cut back hours
16% — Retire
25% — Share of doctors who already do concierge medicine or plan to adopt it in full or in part
The best direction for U.S. health care
2.7% — Status quo
18.2% — Single-payer
36.8% — Two-tier system
35.2% — Market-driven system
7.2% — Other
10% — Share who say doctors can do a good deal or great deal to influence the U.S. health care system
Read more in our April issue.
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