Physician Sentiment Index℠ (PSI) by athenahealth and Sermo

Today, athenahealth and Sermo will publicly release the Physician Sentiment Index℠ (PSI). With over 1,000 physicians polled, the national survey is thought to be the largest of its kind.

In a nutshell, the findings were:

• 64% cited the current healthcare climate as somewhat or very detrimental to their delivery of quality care
• Only 22% are optimistic about the ability of the American physician to practice independently or in small groups
• 59% are of the mind that the quality of medicine in America will decline in next five years; only 18% believe the quality of medicine will improve 
• The majority (54%) strongly disagree/disagree that more active government involvement in healthcare regulation can improve outcomes; less than a quarter feel otherwise
• A shift from fee-for-service to pay-for-performance gives hope to almost half (49%) who think it will have a very/somewhat positive impact quality of care but;
  
  
  
  • 53 percent believe pay-for-performance will have a negative/very negative impact on the effort required to get paid

Surprised by the results? It should be interesting to see what the Sermo poll reveals now that the health care reform bill has passed. Click here for the complete results of the survey.