A survey of more than 10,000 practicing physicians across the nation has been capturing headlines and increasing concern.

Conducted by physician recruiting firm Merritt-Hawkins for The Physicians’ Foundation, which is grant-funded, the survey was mailed to every primary care physician in the nation, as well as many specialty doctors. The AMA and ISMA Reports urged members to participate, and the results include Indiana responses.

Indeed, the survey confirmed findings of the ISMA in its member surveys of 2004 and 2005 regarding a looming physician shortage.

“Going into this project we generally knew about the shortage of physicians; what we didn’t know is how much worse it could get over the next few years,” said Lou Goodman, Ph.D., president of The Physicians’ Foundation. “The bottom line is that the person you’ve known as your family doctor could be getting ready to disappear – and there might not be a replacement.”

At a time when the new administration and Congress are talking about expanding access through universal health care, the harsh reality is there might not be enough doctors to handle the increased number of people who might want to see them.

Physician respondents reported widespread frustration because of increased time dealing with non-clinical paperwork, difficulty obtaining reimbursement and burdensome regulations. Such things keep doctors from the most satisfying aspect of the work: caring for patients.

“I don’t know of a single physician who joined the profession to fill out forms or spend long hours on hold trying to get pre-certification,” said David Welsh, M.D., ISMA president. “Physicians are tired of playing games with insurance companies that deny appropriate and necessary services because of a misplaced form or mistake on the insurer’s part, keeping a patient from getting the coverage they need.”

Results of this survey have implications for local communities, states and the nation. What follows are some examples from the Survey Summary and Analysis; find the complete document here.

Consider that:

• 78% of respondents believe the U.S. has a shortage of primary care doctors.
• 49%, more than 150,000 doctors nationwide, said in the next three years they plan to reduce their patient loads or stop practicing.
• 60% of doctors would not recommend medicine as a career.
• 94% said the time they spend on paperwork has increased in the last three years.
• 82% said their practices would be “unsustainable” if proposed cuts to Medicare pay are made.