The Massachusetts Medical Society’s 2011 Physician Workforce Study also showed that primary care physicians (61.4 percent) are more likely to participate in a voluntary global payment system than specialists (32.2 percent). The survey said some of the reasons physicians are concerned about global payments could be drawn from a separate survey conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health. In that survey, only 7 percent of respondents said their practices had the necessary information technology, and 29 percent said their group simply is not ready to enter into a global payment contract.
Other key findings from the 2011 Physician Workforce Study include:
• Eight physician specialties are in critical or severe shortages in Massachusetts. They are family medicine, internal medicine, general surgery, neurosurgery, dermatology, orthopedics, psychiatry and urology.
• Family medicine and internal medicine have been in shortages for six straight years.
• Respondents were almost split on whether they would participate in an accountable care organization. Forty-nine percent said they were likely to join an ACO, while 51 percent they most likely would not.
• Similar to global payment systems, primary care physicians (71.9 percent) are more likely to participate in an ACO than specialists (50.2 percent).
Related Articles on Global Payments:
Further Evidence Questioning Impact of Quality Incentive Programs Creates Doubts for Shared Savings
Partners HealthCare, Insurers Negotiate Global Payments
Harvard Study Shows Global Payments Improve Healthcare While Controlling Costs
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