A recent survey shows that the majority of physicians in managed care programs feel that the managed care has had detrimental effects on the quality of medical care and on the physician-patient relationship. Researchers at Allegheny University of the Health Sciences in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, surveyed more than 500 doctors to collect data and found that more than half said the quality of healthcare is adversely affected by limitations in location of diagnostic tests, length of hospital stay, and choice of specialists, and that about two-thirds of respondents said managed care has undermined the physician-patient relationship.
Authors say the most common reasons behind the respondents’ opinions were that managed care presents conflicts that make it more difficult to place the patients’ interests first, such as physician/HMO financial incentives for productivity, and the hostile view of physicians as “gatekeepers” who must approve managed care coverage for tests, hospital stays, and referrals for visits to specialists. The findings are in the Archives of Internal Medicine.