To be a healthcare professional today is to feel the ground shifting under your feet. In the two years since The Physicians Foundation last completed its Survey of America’s Physicians, the healthcare system in the United States has  seen more changes than in any comparable two-year period in recent memory.

The Survey of America’s Physicians was emailed to virtually every physician in the United States with an email address on record with the American Medical Association’s Physician Master File, the largest physician database in the nation. Additional emails were sent to physicians on Merritt Hawkins’ database and on the databases of several state medical societies. The emails were sent in increments of several thousand to over 100,000 from early March, 2014 through late June, 2014.

Here are a few Key Findings:

• 81% of physicians describe themselves as either overextended or at full capacity, up from 75%in 2012 and 76% in 2008. Only 19% say they have time to see more patients.
• 44% of physicians plan to take one or more steps that would reduce patient access to their services, such as cutting back on patients seen, retiring, working part-time, closing their practice to new patients, or seeking a non-clinical job, leading to the potential loss of tens of thousands of full-time-equivalents (FTEs).
• Only 35% of physicians describe themselves as independent practice owners, down from 49% in 2012 and 62% in 2008
• 46% of physicians give the Affordable Care Act a D or F grade, while 25% give it an A or B.
• 39% of physicians indicate they will accelerate their retirement plans due to changes in the healthcare system.

Read the full report here: 2014 Survey of America’s Physicians: Practice Patterns and Perspectives 

What are your thoughts about the report?