The foundation, a nonprofit grant-making and research group, polled more than 20,000 physicians, including 565 from North Carolina. Only 39 percent of N.C. doctors and 44 percent of all doctors described their morale and feelings about the profession as positive, the survey found. However, most national measures of morale had climbed since the last poll in 2012, with young doctors describing themselves as more upbeat than older ones.
The group sent me a breakout on North Carolina, which didn't include a prior-year comparison. The state numbers generally tracked national ones, though Tarheel docs tended to be a bit more negative. Numbers below are for North Carolina.
First the good news: Just over two thirds said medicine is still rewarding, with patient relationships and intellectual stimulation cited by a strong majority as the best part of their practice. However, fewer than half said they'd recommend medicine as a career for young people.
Just over 42 percent said changes in medicine are prompting them to accelerate retirement plans. In the next one to three years, 16 percent said they plan to cut back hours, 13 percent said they'll seek a non-clinical health care job and 12.5 percent said they plan to do locum tenens, or temporary, work.
About 34 percent said they're "overextended and overworked," while only 17 percent said they have time to see more patients and take on more duties.
Two-thirds disagreed with the statement that hospital employment of doctors "is a positive trend likely to enhance quality of care and decrease costs."
When asked about the causes of rising health costs, "defensive medicine," or trying to avoid malpractice suits, was by far the most-cited factor at 60.5 percent. Next were an aging population (37 percent), the cost of pharmaceuticals (35 percent) and state and federal insurance mandates (34 percent).
Most doctors say they're using electronic medical records, a practice promoted by the Affordable Care Act, but they're not convinced it's doing much good. The physicians were about evenly split on whether the electronic records improve or detract from care, but they were much more likely to say the switch detracts from patient interaction and efficiency.
When asked to grade the ACA "as a vehicle for healthcare reform," 47 percent gave the act a D or F, compared with 25 percent awarding an A or B.