The Center for Studying Health System Change released the following findings from the 2008 Health Tracking Physician Survey, the latest year available.
1. How physicians are paid. In 2008, 44 percent of physicians received some form of performance-adjusted salary (based on productivity, for example), one-quarter were on a fixed salary and 20 percent received a share of practice revenue.
2. Acceptance of Medicare and Medicaid. Slightly more than half of physicians accepted all or most new Medicaid patients; 74 percent accepted all or most new Medicare patients; and 87 percent accepted all or most new privately insured patients
3. Primary care-specialist-surgeon mix. Almost 40 percent were in primary care; 35 percent in the medical specialties, including psychiatry; and 26 percent in surgery, including obstetrics/gynecology.
4. Proportion self-employed and employed. While 56 percent were either full or part owners of their practices, 44 percent were employees or independent contractors.
5. Proportion in small practices. Nearly one-third worked in solo or two-physician practices, 15 percent in groups of 3-5 physicians and 19 percent worked in practices of 6-50 physicians.
6. Portrait of non-managed care physicians. Only 13 percent did not have any managed care contracts. They were more likely to have practiced more than 20 years, work fewer than 40 hours per week, lack board certification, work in solo or two-physician practices, live in western states and practice in a non-competitive areas than those with at least one contract.
7. Proportion providing charity care. Just under six in 10 U.S. physicians provided charity care to patients in financial need. These physicians provided an average of 9.5 hours of charity care per month, or just over 4 percent of their worktime.
8. Proportion with foreign medical degrees. More than 20 percent earned their MD degree outside of the United States or Canada.
9. Concentration in one age range. Physicians ages 40-55 made up 53 percent of the profession.
10. Growth in the ratios of women and non-whites. Though 26 percent of physicians were women in 2008, 41 percent of those under age 40 were women. And while 25 percent of physicians were non-white in 2008, 33 percent of those under age 40 were non-white.
Source: Center for Studying Health System Change.