Love the Paycheck, Hate the Rules?
For doctors, being an employee -- rather than running a private practice -- is becoming more common as healthcare reform marches onward.
Most formerly self-employed physicians appreciate now getting a steady paycheck. But many are less pleased that they've traded away a degree of autonomy and independence, and they feel the switch came at a steep price.
Those are some of the insights from an exclusive Medscape survey report that garnered responses from more than 4600 physicians. Here are some of the major findings from Medscape's 2014 Employed Doctors Report:
1. What doctors relish most about being employed: not having to deal with the business of running an office (58%); not having to deal with insurers and billing (45%); guaranteed income/even cash flow (42%), and a good benefits package (28%).
2. On the flip side, employed doctors complained about the profusion of rules and the lack of input into how they practice. Leading complaints were: limited influence in decision-making (45%); more limited income potential (44%); too many rules in general (34%); less control over work/schedule (32%); and being "bossed around" by management (30%). Less than half (49%) of employed doctors said they are satisfied with their degree of autonomy at work, while 25% say they are unsatisfied.
