Hospitals, MedCity Influencers, Policy

Will Obamacare squeeze independent doctors in small towns out of business?

Any takers on this property? Didn’t think so.  While health care reform has benefited large […]

Any takers on this property?

Didn’t think so. 

While health care reform has benefited large health care systems, it continues to decimate small practice physicians.  This portends an ominous outlook for health care in small-town and rural communities. From Medscape Cardiology (registration required):

One third of physicians in small group practices who responded to a recent survey expect their 2012 income to fall below what they earned last year.  Financial pressures could have a devastating effect on physicians in practices of 10 or fewer participants: 26% surveyed said they might have to close their practice within the next 12 months.

“The survey was emailed in April to a random selection of 15,000 of the 200,000 physicians who are registered members of MDLinx, a medical news website, and 673 responded,” a spokesman told Medscape Medical News.

“A total of 49% of small practice physicians reported cutting staff and services to reduce operating expenses. Despite such measures, 23% said they have used personal savings, and 20% have had to borrow money to cover expenses.

“By comparison, only 13% of physicians at larger practices or hospitals expected their income to drop this year.

“This poll is quite startling in the revelations about small practices, the healthcare lifelines to many communities,” said Stephen Smith, chief marketing officer for MDLinx. “Physicians have had missiles raining in on their practices at an increasing pace—the economy, regulations, paperwork, insurance, lawsuits, etc.”

… “The coming retraction this survey hints at,” said Smith, “would mean longer drives to less-personal, higher-cost medical care for millions of Americans.”


Westby G. Fisher, MD

Westby G. Fisher, MD, FACC is a board certified internist, cardiologist, and cardiac electrophysiologist (doctor specializing in heart rhythm disorders) practicing at NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston, IL, USA and is a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Medicine. He entered the blog-o-sphere in November, 2005. He writes regularly at Dr. Wes. DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this blog are strictly the those of the author(s) and should not be construed as the opinion(s) or policy(ies) of NorthShore University HealthSystem, nor recommendations for your care or anyone else's. Please seek professional guidance instead.

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