While physicians are generally feeling better about their income in 2015, they're feeling worse about the Affordable Care Act than they have in several years, according to survey results announced by the Medicus Firm.
The annual survey represents a total of 2,413 clinicians distributed throughout the United States and emcompassing 21 specialties, according to Medicus, a physician recruiting agency. Practitioners' top concerns overwhelmingly focused on compensation and work-life balance, and the survey results revealed greater satisfaction with the former than the latter. Some key takeaways:
- Physicians surveyed expressed greater satisfaction about their pay in this year's survey than in last year's, with the number declaring themselves dissatisfied dropping from 60 percent last year to 34 percent this year. Respondents don't seem to think this is a transitory event, with over 80 percent expecting their pay to remain steady or increase in 2016.
- Long work weeks seem to be the norm for most doctors, as 40 percent of respondents indicated they work over 50 hours a week, with another third reporting between 40 and 50 hours. This suggests a logical explanation for the relatively high rates of concern reported around "work/life balance" and "work-related burnout and stress."
- When asked about elements of the Affordable Care Act, physicians responded more negatively than they have in several years, according to Medicus, as the number giving the law a passing grade dropped from 83 percent last year to 71 percent this year.
- The survey found that nearly one in five respondents reported they were either "likely" or "definitely" planning a career change within the next year, a trend potentially tied to dissatisfaction with the ACA, which FiercePracticeManagement previously reported has led a significant number of physicians to threaten to quit.
To learn more:
- here's the survey announcement