How the Pandemic Impacts Physician Revenue, Visits, Well-Being and View of the Future

By Clive Riddle, October 29, 2020

A new AMA physician survey indicates COVID-19 impact has caused a 32% average drop in physician practice revenue. Their just released results of their mid-summer survey of 3,500 physicians also found that:

• 81% said revenue was lower and they were providing fewer in-person patient visits compared to February
• Revenue reductions were 50% or greater for nearly 1 out of 5 physicians.
• In-person patient visits decreased 50% or greater for more than one-third of physicians.
• Even including telehealth visits, almost 7 out of 10 physicians were providing fewer total visits (in-person + telehealth).
• Total patient visits decreased 50% or greater for more than 1 out of 5 physicians.
• Spending on personal protective equipment (PPE) since February increased 50% or greater for nearly 2 out of 5 medical practice owners.
• 36% said that acquiring PPE was very or extremely difficult

The Physicians Foundation last month released the results of part two of their national survey conducted by Merritt Hawkins of 1,270 physicians, which address physician how Covid-19 has affected physician well-being, and found:

• 30% of physicians have been made to feel hopeless or that they have no purpose as a result of Covid-19’s effects on their practice or employment situation
•  18% have increased use of medications, alcohol or illicit drugs as a result of Covid-19
• 24% have sought medical attention for a physical problem
• 18% have sought mental healthcare
• 8% have considered self-harm
• 22% report they know a physician who has committed suicide

The Foundation last week released the results of part three of their national physician survey conducted by Merritt Hawkins, with this component addressing future of the health care system, which also found that:

• 44% of physicians indicate that 26% of their patients delay or decline care due to costs
• 42% strongly agree that conditions worsened by the pandemic induced delays will place a high demand on our health care system in 2021

Regarding the central focus of part three of their survey - on the future - the Foundation found this:

"While physicians' overall preference is for a hybrid approach, their opinions on other options for organizing our system yielded significant insights. Most surprisingly, maintaining or improving the current Affordable Care Act (ACA) influenced program did not initially rank high, with only 19% selecting this as number one on the one to four scale. Instead, 30% of physicians (the second highest percentage) chose moving to a market-driven system with Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and catastrophic policies as number one. It wasn't until the next levels (two to four) were added that improving the current ACA system became more highly ranked (49%) than transitioning to a market-driven/HSA model (45%). The survey found significant polarity in support for HSAs: thirty percent of physicians rated it a number one, but 42% also rated it a four.  Support for a "single payer/Medicare for All" type of system consistently scored last with physicians, who rated the option either one through three. The only time it was not the least preferred option was among level four ratings, in which it was surpassed by HSAs 42% to 38%."