Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T12:24:38.613Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Information-oriented patients and physician career satisfaction: is there a link?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 August 2010

Hai Fang*
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor, Department of Health Systems, Management, and Policy, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado, Denver, USA
John A. Rizzo
Affiliation:
Professor, Department of Economics and Department of Preventive Medicine, Stony Brook University, NY, USA
*
*Correspondence to: Assistant Professor Hai Fang, Department of Health Systems, Management, and Policy, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Denver 13001 E 17th Place Room E3312, Campus Box B119 Aurora, CO 80045, USA. Email: [email protected]

Abstract

Patients’ increasing use of alternative sources of information besides their physician and more active involvement in medical decision making may be changing relationships between physicians and their patients. We term patients who provide medical information to their physicians from sources other than their physician as information-oriented patients and investigate the relationship between having such patients and physician career satisfaction. We find that having more information-oriented patients is significantly associated with lower physician career satisfaction. Though healthcare information from alternative sources other than their physicians is thought to promote better-informed patient choices, the adverse relationship with physician career satisfaction found in this study may have important implications for patient access and quality of care.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arrow, K. J. (1963), ‘Uncertainty and the welfare economics of medical care’, American Economic Review, 53(5): 941973.Google Scholar
Baker, L. C.Cantor, J. C. (1993), ‘Physician satisfaction under managed care’, Health Affairs, 12 Supplement 1: 258270.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Center for Studying Health System Change. (2003), ‘Community Tracking Study Physician Survey 2000–2001 Methodology Report’, Center for Studying Health System Change, Technical Publication No. 38, http://www.hschange.org/CONTENT/570/570a.pdf [30 August 2008].Google Scholar
Chambers, D. W. (2001), ‘The role of dentists in dentistry’, Journal of Dental Education, 65(12): 14301440.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hadley, J., Mitchell, J. M., Sulmasy, D. P.Bloche, M. G. (1999), ‘Perceived financial incentives, HMO market penetration, and physicians’ practice styles and satisfaction’, Health Services Research, 34(1 Pt 2): 307321.Google ScholarPubMed
Hadley, J.Mitchell, J. M. (2002), ‘The growth of managed care and changes in physicians’ incomes, autonomy, and satisfaction, 1991–1997’, International Journal of Health Care Finance and Economics, 2(1): 3750.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hausman, J. A. (1983), ‘Specification and Estimation of Simultaneous Equations Model’, in Z. Griliches and M. D. Intriligator (eds), Handbook of Econometrics, vol. 1. Amsterdam: North Holland: 391448.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hibbard, J. H.Jewett, J. J. (1997), ‘Will quality report cards help consumers?’, Health Affairs, 16(3): 218228.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hirsch, R. D. (1993), American Bar Association National Survey of Lawyers’ Career Satisfaction, Wave II, 1990, 3rd edn, Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR).Google Scholar
Hofer, T. P., Hayward, R. A., Greenfield, S., Wagner, E. H., Kaplan, S. H.Manning, W. G. (1999), ‘The unreliability of individual physician ‘report cards’ for assessing the costs and quality of care of a chronic disease’, Journal of American Medical Association, 281(22): 20982105.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holstein, R. C.Lundberg, G. D. (2003), ‘Use of the Internet for health information and communication’, Journal of Americana Medical Association, 290(17): 2255.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Landon, B. E., Reschovsky, J.Blumenthal, D. (2003), ‘Changes in career satisfaction among primary care and specialist physicians, 1997–2001’, Journal of American Medical Association, 289(4): 442449.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Landon, B. E. (2004), ‘Career satisfaction among physicians’, Journal of American Medical Association, 291(5): 634.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Leigh, J. P., Kravitz, R. L., Schembri, M., Samuels, S. J.Mobley, S. (2002), ‘Physician career satisfaction across specialties’, Archives of Internal Medicine, 162(14): 15771584.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Linzer, M., Konrad, T. R., Douglas, J., McMurray, J. E., Pathman, D. E., Williams, E. S., Schwartz, M. D., Gerrity, M., Scheckler, W., Bigby, J. A.Rhodes, E. (2000), ‘Managed care, time pressure, and physician job satisfaction: results from the physician worklife study’, Journal of General Internal Medicine, 15(7): 441450.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mechanic, D. (2003), ‘Physician discontent: challenges and opportunities’, Journal of the American Medical Association, 290(7): 941946.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pathman, D., Konrad, T. R., Williams, E. S., Scheckler, W. E., Linzer, M.Douglas, J., Career Satisfaction Study Group (2002), ‘Physician job satisfaction, job dissatisfaction, and physician turnover’, Journal of Family Practice, 51(7).Google Scholar
Rivers, D.Vuong, Q. H. (1988), ‘Limited information estimators and exogeneity tests for simultaneous probit models’, Journal of Econometrics, 39(3): 347366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, J. C. (2004), ‘Reinvention of health insurance in the consumer era’, Journal of American Medical Association, 291(15): 18801886.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spratley, E., Johnson, A., Sochalski, J., Fritz, M.Spencer, W. (2003), The Registered Nurse Population: Findings from the National Registration Survey of Registered Nurses, Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions, Division of Nursing.Google Scholar
Staiger, D.Stock, J. H. (1997), ‘Instrumental variables regression with weak instruments’, Econometrica, 65(3): 557586.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stoddard, J. J., Hargraves, J. L., Reed, M.Vratil, A. (2001), ‘Managed care, professional autonomy, and income: effects on physician career satisfaction’, Journal of General Internal Medicine, 16(10): 675684.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Strunk, B. C., Reschovsky, J. D. (2002), ‘Kinder and gentler: physicians and managed care, 1997–2001’, Center for studying Health System Change Tracking Report No. 5. http://www.hschange.com/CONTENT/486/486.pdf [14 September 2008].Google Scholar
Sturm, R. (2002), ‘Effect of managed care and financing on practice constraints and career satisfaction in primary care’, Journal of the American Board of Family Practice, 15(5): 367377.Google ScholarPubMed
Terza, J. V., Basu, A.Rathouz, P. J. (2008), ‘Two-stage residual inclusion estimation: addressing endogeneity in health econometric modeling’, Journal of Health Economics, 27(3): 531543.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, E. S., Konrad, T. R., Linzer, M., McMurray, J., Pathman, D. E., Gerrity, M., Schwartz, M. D., Scheckler, W. E.Douglas, J., SGIM Career Satisfaction Study Group (2002), ‘Physician, practice, and patient characteristics related to primary care physician physical and mental health: results from the physician worklife study’, Health Services Research, 37(1): 121143.Google ScholarPubMed
Wooldridge, J. (2001), Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data, Cambridge: The MIT Press.Google Scholar