Physician Practice Trends Survey 2012: medicare/ medicaid participation

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Physician Practice Trends Survey 2012: Preliminary Results

In April 2012, Healthcare conducted an online physician survey that included all medical specialities. This is the first of a multi-year survey to track physicians' work patterns and plans in the era of health reform.

The survey consisted of six areas of focus:

Patient Capacity for Medical Practice

Access for Medicaid and Medicare Patients

Current Practice Environment

Accountable Care Organization/Medical Home Participation

Use of Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants

Current Retirement Plans

will publish a comprehensive summary of the survey findings in June 2012. Please email us to receive the PDF report.

What follows are preliminary findings related to the Medicaid and Medicare portion of this physician survey.

 Key Findings: Medicaid

Currently, 36 percent of physician respondents reported being unable to accept new Medicaid patients. Twenty-six percent of physicians said they do not see Medicaid patients at all.

Top five physician specialties least likely to accept new Medicaid patients:

Dermatologists (34 percent)

Endocrinologists (36 percent)

Plastic Surgeons (36 percent)

Internal Medicine: General (42 percent)

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (43 percent)

Top five physician specialties most likely to accept new Medicaid patients:

Pediatric Subspecialists (95 percent)

Pathologists (90 percent)

Radiologists (86 percent)

Anesthesiologists (83 percent)

General Surgeons (81 percent)

According to this recent ASPE Issue Brief, it is estimated that between 13.4 million and 25.9 million new Medicaid enrollees will enter the U.S. healthcare system by 2020.

 

Key Findings: Medicare

Currently, 17 percent of all physician respondents reported being unable to accept new Medicare patients. Ten percent of physicians said they do not see Medicare patients at all.

Top five physician specialties least likely to accept new Medicare patients:

Adult Psychiatrists (57 percent)

Plastic Surgeons (68 percent)

Internal Medicine: General (73 percent)

Family Practitioners (75 percent)

OB/GYN (76 percent)

Top five physician specialties most likely to accept new Medicare patients:

Cardiology (96 percent)

Hemotologists/Oncologists (96 percent)

Urologists (95 percent)

General Surgeons (92 percent)

Anesthesiologists and Neurologists (91 percent each)

 

Definition of Primary Care

On this summary page, the phrase " primary care doctors " includes combined data from family practice and internal medicine physicians.

Survey Methodology

Healthcare's research on physician capacity for Medicare and Medicaid patients is based on survey invitations emailed to physicians nationwide and completed online. The survey was completed by 2,232 physicians across all specialties. It was conducted between April 19 and April 26, 2012, and had a margin of error of + or - 2.1 percent at a 95 percent confidence level.