IMPACT OF PHYSICIANS PART-TIME STATUS ON INPATIENTS USE OF MEDICAL-CARE AND THEIR SATISFACTION WITH PHYSICIANS IN AN ACADEMIC GROUP-PRACTICE

Inpatients use of medical care and their satisfaction with their physicians were examined comparing the patients of three part-time physicians and five full-time physicians in an internal medicine group practice at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. In one study, by chart review over a seven-month period in 1988, each patient's length of stay and severity of illness were measured. A total of 58 cases were reviewed: 34 from full-time physicians and 24 from part-time physicians. When matched for severity of illness, there was no difference in lengths of stay between the patients of the part-time and those of the full-time physicians. In a second study, on interviewer-administered questionnaires completed over a ten-month period in 1986-1987, 60 patients gave satisfaction ratings of their primary physicians: 36 with full-time physicians and 24 with part-time physicians. Patients' satisfaction was equally high for both groups of physicians. The authors suggest that since more women physicians in internal medicine are demanding part-time work, and since part-time arrangements have been criticized as having adverse effects on patient care, their findings may contribute to more enlightened attitudes towards physicians who choose part-time status.