By Dave Albin, MBA
ISMA Director of Membership and Marketing

With the help of ISMA members across the state, a survey was conducted this year to better understand the issues that matter most to them, the value members find in ISMA programs and services, and how engaged members are with advocacy efforts.

The results, some of which are highlighted below, are now being used by ISMA leadership and staff to help assess and develop member programs and services and to prioritize advocacy efforts.

Health care issues. ISMA members agreed that many of the issues listed in the survey should be a focus over the next three years. The top five issues mentioned overall were:

Medical malpractice – 62%
Prior authorization – 60%
Reimbursement issues – 50%
Minimizing regulations – 48%
Scope of practice – 47%

ISMA programs and services. Members indicated they found value in all the ISMA services offered, to varying degrees. The top five most valuable ISMA services for members were:

Advocacy – 91%
Communications – 79%
Education – 65%
Physician Assistance Program – 62%
Legal resources – 62%

Satisfaction with ISMA. Several overall measures of satisfaction and member intent were included on the survey. Results included:

Overall satisfaction with ISMA membership – 80%
Likelihood to recommend a colleague join ISMA – 86%
Intent to maintain membership over next five years – 93% Yes

Advocacy. The survey results reveal the degree to which ISMA members are involved in advocacy efforts and political action in Indiana. The key findings about ISMA members include:

Members who have called, emailed or met with legislators – 68%
Members who have financially supported candidates or political parties in Indiana – 52%
Members who generally vote for Republicans – 48%, Democrats – 13%, depends on the candidate or the issue – 37%

Demographics. Several questions about demographics and employment setting were asked, so that the above issues or services can be analyzed further through cross-tabulation and data mining. Both the age and gender metrics were very close to the overall distribution in the iMIS membership database. Overall, the ISMA members replying to the survey were:

Ages 30-59 – 53%, 60 or older – 46% (Residents totaled 1% of all respondees.)
Female – 24%, male – 76%
Employed – 45%, practice owner/partner – 35%, retired – 20% Practice in primary care – 40%, in specialties – 60%
Retirement approaching – Active (dues-paying) members who are 60 or older – 35%

Methodology. The survey of ISMA membership was conducted in the spring of 2019 through an online survey instrument. The survey link was sent to all members with valid email addresses; included in the printed ISMA Reports; distributed to county medical society executives for distribution; and shared in meetings and presentations during the survey period. A total of 301 member responses were recorded at a 95% confidence interval, meaning if the survey were repeated 20 times, we could expect the results to be the same 19 times. The overall margin of error was +/-5%, given the membership population and the sample size of 301 surveys completed.