WATERBURY, CT – A recent survey indicates Connecticut physicians are leaving the state and retiring – which is limiting patient access to care.
The Connecticut State Medical Society issued its final report on the 2008 Connecticut Physician Workforce Survey. Polling 1,077 physicians in 17 specialty areas on their perceptions about their careers and practices, it explored the impact on patient access to medical care.
“We conducted this survey and put it through the rigors of peer review because we need decision-makers and policy-makers to have a statistically valid picture when they discuss reforming Connecticut’s healthcare system,” said CSMS Immediate Past President Angelo Carrabba, MD.
Results show that 19 percent of responding physicians are contemplating a career change and 10 percent plan to leave the state because of Connecticut’s practice environment. At the same time, 47 percent of physicians reported increasing their hours.
Meanwhile, the survey indicates new patients wait an average of 17 days for an office visit statewide, longer in Hartford, Middlesex, New Haven and Windham counties.
“Assuring there is an adequate supply and the right mix of physicians will be crucial if we are to provide quality, affordable healthcare to everyone in our state,” said Juan A. Figueroa, president of the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut.
CSMS said challenges to Connecticut’s practice environment include professional liability rates and the administrative requirements of medicine tied to managed care constraints.
Officials said it takes months, sometimes years, to recruit new physicians in specialties such as urology, orthopedic surgery and neurosurgery. Overall, 35 percent of respondents to the survey say it’s “very difficult” to recruit new physicians, with those in Litchfield, New London and Windham counties having the most difficulty.
“The survey illustrates that at a time when Baby Boomers are reaching retirement age, Connecticut is failing to recruit the highly skilled younger physicians it needs to continue to provide care to a graying population,” said CSMS President William A. Handelman, MD.
Physicians were equally divided in their support or opposition to a single-payer program.