Poor compensation was cited by 39.3 percent of physicians in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York as a top reason they have considered relocation, according to the 2015 Physician Workforce Report from Monroe County Medical Society.
The report includes data from a survey of physicians conducted in fall 2014, meant to evaluate the local physician environment. More than 3,500 physicians received the survey, and a total of more than 330 provided complete responses.
Here are 13 key statistics from the survey about the physician environment in Upstate New York.
- 60 percent of physicians' hours are spent on direct outpatient care.
- 89.1 percent of physician respondents who are not hospitalists reported some level of outpatient care.
- 49.3 percent of primary care physician respondents provide direct inpatient care.
- Physicians in the Finger Lakes region spend 10.3 hours a week on average doing administrative work, up from 6 hours per week in 2003.
- 78.6 percent of respondents with patient contact said they are accepting new patients.
- Of those physicians, 23.4 percent are not accepting new Medicaid patients.
- 25 percent of physicians said they expect to retire in the next five years, but this could be offset by new physicians.
- 70 percent of respondents said personal and family reasons are a determining factor for their practice location, however, 32.5 percent said personal and family reasons are a factor in relocation.
- 45.8 percent ranked career opportunities as a determining factor for practicing in the Finger Lakes region.
- 44.6 percent ranked geographic location as a factor.
- 39.3 percent felt compensation in the region was not adequate or competitive enough, and because of this would consider relocation.
- 37.7 percent would consider relocation based on the difficult practice environment.
- Compensation ranked last as a reason to relocate to the region.
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