Additional key findings from the survey are shown below.
- Most respondents (74 percent) were not members of an accountable care organization.
- 92.7 percent of physician practices are still using traditional fee-for-service payment models. After fee-for-service, the next most common payment model indicated by physicians and administrators is direct pay and cash only (20.7 percent) followed by concierge medicine (1.6 percent). Respondents were able to check all models that apply on the survey.
- More than half of respondents (54 percent) reported they did not make any cutbacks to benefits in the last year to save money, while 19.6 percent said they increased healthcare premiums. About 14 percent said they actually improved or added benefits.
- In the past two years, most practices reported they have had the same number of staff (43.1 percent) while 34.5 percent added staff and 22.4 percent reduced staff.
- In the same period, 31.7 percent of practices reported they increased staff work load without increasing salaries, while 26.8 percent said the economy has not affected their practice and 21.8 percent increased staff salaries.
- The biggest challenge physician practices are facing is that staff training and skills are not up to par (25 percent), followed by lack of professionalism among staff, such as gossip, lateness or lack of respect for managers and physicians (18.2 percent).
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