Poll: Docs Expect COVID-19 to Linger Into Next Year

Nearly 60% of 3,513 respondents in The Physician Foundation biennial survey believe COVID-19 will reduce the number of independent physician practices in their communities.

More than 8-in-10 physicians (86%) believe the COVID-19 pandemic won't be under control until at least next year, and 72% believe the accompanying delays in routine care will adversely affect patient health.

That's according to The Physicians Foundation biennial Survey of America's Physicians, which also found that 49% of physicians don’t believe the coronavirus will be controlled until after June 2021.

"The data reveals a near-consensus among America's physicians about COVID-19's immediate and lasting impact on our health care system," said The Physicians Foundation President Gary Price, MD.

"We are living through a historical shift in the way we practice and how we deliver care to patients. Our healthcare landscape is constantly changing right now, and we expect it will be radically different for both physicians and our patients long after the pandemic passes," Price said.

The online survey was conducted for The Physicians Foundation by physician recruiters Merritt Hawkins. The poll, taken from July 15 to July 26, was received by more than 500,000 physicians nationwide, and 3,513 physicians responded, giving the survey a margin of error of +/- 1.86%.

In addition to routine care delays, 75% of physicians say patients will feel "indirect effects" of the pandemic through job losses that may disrupt health insurance coverage.

In addition, 67% of physicians said patients' reluctance to seek care during the pandemic poses a threat to their health, and 65% said the closure of physician offices also will adversely affect patients.

Nearly 60% of physicians said the national reopening, even as the pandemic rages in many parts of the nation, poses a bigger risk to patients than continuing social distancing policies.

The survey also found that:

• 59% believe COVID-19 will reduce the number of independent physician practices in their communities.
   
• 8% have already closed their practices as a result of COVID-19, a number totaling approximately 16,000 practices nationally.
   
• 43% have reduced staff due to COVID-19.
   
• 96% will not leave medicine because of pandemic-related health risks.
   
• 75% said they received sufficient federal funding to remain open from the Paycheck Protection Program.
   
• 50% believe hospitals will have a stronger influence over care organization and delivery because of the pandemic.
   
• 37% saw volume decreases of 25% or less, and 41% saw volume decreases of 26% or more.
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• 12% – representing about 100,000 physicians nationally – have switched to a primarily telemedicine practice as a result of COVID-19, up 1,577% from only 6,000 in 2018.
   
• 52% plan to increase the use of telemedicine in their practice in the next 12 months.
   
• 4% said they plan to switch to a primarily telemedicine practice.

"This survey emphasizes how the pre-existing issues within our healthcare system, such as physician shortages and lack of patient access to health care, will continue to worsen unless we empower and support physicians as they continue to work tirelessly through a global pandemic ," said Robert Seligson, CEO of The Physicians Foundation.