COVID-19

New Survey of Physicians Sheds Light On MDs Wide-Ranging COVID-19 Sentiments

Aug. 21, 2020

The Physicians Foundation’s report focused primarily on the impact of COVID-19 on physicians’ practices and their patients

Rajiv Leventhal

A new survey of physicians finds that the majority of doctors believe COVID-19 won’t be under control until January 2021, with nearly half not seeing the virus being under control until after June 1, 2021.

Furthermore, a majority of physicians believe that the virus will severely impact patient health outcomes due to delayed routine care during the pandemic. These findings are part of The Physicians Foundation’s “2020 Survey of America’s Physicians.”

The report from the Foundation was specifically broken down into three parts: the impact of COVID-19 on physicians’ practices and their patients; the impact of COVID-19 on physician well-being; and the impact of COVID-19 on the healthcare system. This first part of the report is based on a survey that was conducted in July, and data is based on more than 3,500 responses.

The report included numerous key findings, including:

Nearly 50 percent of physicians believe the coronavirus pandemic will not be under control until sometime after June 1, 2021.

86 percent of physicians believe the pandemic will not be under control until after Jan. 1, 2021.

Close to three quarters (72 percent) of physicians indicated that COVID-19 will have serious consequences for patient health in their communities because many patients delayed getting care they needed during the pandemic.

A primary cause of harm to patients presented by COVID-19, cited by 76 percent of physicians, is employment changes that may result in patients losing health insurance.

The majority of physicians (59 percent) believe opening businesses, schools and public places presents a greater health risk to patients than prolonging social isolation.

88 percent of physicians believe a potential spike in COVID-19 cases poses the risk of moderate to great harm to patients.

8 percent of physicians have closed their practices as a result of COVID-19.

43 percent of physicians have reduced staff due to COVID -19.

72 percent of physicians have experienced a reduction in income due to COVID-19. Of these, 55 percent have experienced income losses of 26 percent or more.

37 percent of physicians saw volume decreases in their practices of 25 percent or less. By contrast, 41 percent saw volume decreases of 26 percent or more, which may be difficult or impossible for most physician practices to sustain for more than a few months.

Of those physicians who applied for Paycheck Protection Program support, 75 percent indicated they received the support and it was sufficient for them to stay open.

12 percent of physicians have switched to a primarily telemedicine practice as a result of COVID-19. In 2018, only 6,000 physicians were in a primarily telemedicine practice, according to data from the Foundation.

52 percent of physicians plan to increase use of telemedicine in their practices.

The majority of physicians (72 percent) believe the widespread use of telemedicine will not continue unless reimbursement rates for telemedicine visits remain comparable to in-person visits.

The great majority of physicians (96 percent) will not leave medicine due to COVID-19 health risks.

The majority of physicians (59 percent) agreed that COVID-19 will lead to a reduction in the number of independent physician practices in their communities.