Older Physicians Plan To Quit Practicing Medicine - Brief Article

Healthcare Financial Management, August, 2000

Almost half of U.S. physicians age 50 or older who responded to a survey plan to leave medicine in the next one to three years, according to Merritt, Hawkins & Associates, a Dallas-based national healthcare staffing firm that sponsored the survey. Of the 300 physicians age 50 or older who were surveyed, 38 percent plan to retire in one to three years; 10 percent plan to seek jobs in nonmedical settings; and 28 percent plan to close' their practices to new patients, significantly reduce their patient loads, or work on a temporary basis. Only 18 percent of respondents plan to continue in their current style of practice.

The greatest sources of professional frustration cited by respondents were managed care (56 percent) and Medicare/Medicaid regulations (15 percent). Almost 50 percent of respondents indicated that managed care figured significantly in their decision to retire or change their style of practice. According to Merritt, Hawkins, the loss of these experienced physicians could create service gaps for some communities as well as gaps in knowledge and experience that would be hard to fill.