A new plan from the Obama administration will feature “secret shoppers” who will pose as patients and call physician offices for appointments, according to a New York Times report.
Many physicians are distressed over the secret shopper method of the survey, where government employees will ask if the physicians are accepting new patients and, if so, how long the wait would be for an appointment. The administration says the survey will identify the severity of the primary care physician shortage. It will also try to identify whether the practices will provide different wait-times depending on the type of insurance presented.
Some physicians have slammed the plan as a Big Brother tactic promoting distrust and a waste of tax funds. A family physician from Texas said, “Is this a good use of tax money? Probably not. Everybody with a brain knows we do not have enough [physicians],” according to the report.
Read the New York Times report on the new physician survey involving secret shoppers.
Related Articles on the Physician Shortage:
Recruiting Physicians Takes Twice as Long as a Decade Ago
Survey: EMRs, Other HIT Methods Useful in Reducing Impact of Physician Shortages
Healthcare Leaders Worry That Boutique Medicine Will Exacerbate Physician Shortage
