1. The Physicians Foundation
OSMAP General Session
Gary J. Price, MD, MBA
Past President, Connecticut State Medical Society
Board Member, Physicians Foundation
June 9, 2017

2. About The Physicians Foundation

3. Overview National non-profit organization dedicated to:
Empowering physicians to lead in the delivery of high quality, cost-efficient health care
Strengthening the physician-patient relationship
Informing national healthcare policy by giving a voice to physicians nationwide
Supporting practicing physicians as they work to sustain their medical practices and navigate health reform

4. What did we accomplish in 2016?

5. Patient Survey Aimed to explore: Generated 30+ articles
Coverage, use and opinions on health insurance
Experience and satisfaction levels with recent visits with HCPs
Attitudes and perceptions of medicine
Experience with and attitudes toward EMR/EHR
Attitudes toward the Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act
Generated 30+ articles

6. Key Findings 9 out of 10 are highly satisfied with PCP
59% say cost of prescription drugs contributes to rising healthcare costs
83% believe insurers impact treatment options the most
63% disagree that the ACA has helped the doctor-patient relationship
71% say EMR access is important and 85% agree all doctors should provide access

7. 2016 Biennial Physician Survey
Inaugural survey findings reported in 2008; now in its fifth edition
Examined viewpoints of 17,000 physicians across the U.S. to gain consensus on professional morale, practice patterns, career plans and perspectives
Over 100 pieces of coverage

8. Key Findings
62.8% of surveyed are pessimistic about future of medical profession
72% say third party intrusions detract from the quality of care provided
73.8% listed patient relationship as most satisfying aspect
49% often or always experience feelings of burn-out
20% are familiar with MACRA

9. Social Determinants
Commissioned book on impact of poverty on healthcare costs
Authored by the late Dr. Richard “Buz” Cooper whose goal was to question conventional policy assumptions
Released September 2016 by Johns Hopkins University Press

10. Key Findings
If the poorest areas utilized healthcare at the rate of the most affluent, overall utilization and spending could be as much as 30% less
Life expectancy in poor neighborhoods is a full 10 years shorter than in the richest
U.S. spends less on social services than other developed countries, particularly on children and younger adults

11. Grantees Awarded more than $44 million in grants since 2005
Invested nearly $7 million last year
Many of the 2016 grants focused on physician leadership programs at state and county medical societies
Dedicated to supporting nonprofit organizations, medical society foundations and other groups through healthcare grants that seek to advance the work of practicing physicians and improve the delivery of healthcare in America.
Health Leads, a social enterprise that envisions a healthcare system that addresses all patients’ basic resource needs as a standard part of quality care, has been laser focused on designing and implementing social needs programs in clinical settings.
Publication of research at Massachusetts General Hospital
Developed its Roadmap tool, used to guide hospitals and clinics in launching, expanding and scaling programs to address patient social needs.
Develop free patient screening toolkit
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s FutureDocs Forecasting Tool is a critical resource for health systems, hospitals, physician offices, specialty societies and policymakers to find up-to-date, evidence-based forecasts about which types of health services will face shortages in particular geographies. Armed with this information,
stakeholders are using the model to determine which service lines should be expanded and what types of physicians to recruit to meet forecasted shortages.
Shifted its focus to educating users about how to use the FutureDocs Forecasting Tool by adding in new

12. Physician Leadership Conference
Facilitated annual Karl M. Altenburger Leadership Academy
Focused on building physician leadership that empowers physicians to navigate complex healthcare system

13. What’s next?

14. In 2017… Field and report findings on second patient survey
Host 7th Karl M. Altenburger Leadership Academy at Brandeis University
Major grant attention to funding research concerning the value of physician leadership and independent practice

15. In 2017… Underscore core values
Importance of physician-patient relationship
Reinforce physician voice in all aspects of care
Increase transparency in billing, cost of prescription drugs, physician networks
Improve access to care
Expand physician leadership programs
And more

16. In 2017… Address hot topics through earned and owned platforms
Impact of social determinants on healthcare
Physician burnout
MACRA
Healthcare reform
Earned = media
Owned = social media, Forbes channels

17. Questions or Comments?

18. The Physicians Foundation wants to hear from you!
What vital physician issues would you like to see the Foundation research? How can we better collaborate to drive meaningful change for our physicians?
us at
Engage with us on Twitter
Follow us on LinkedIn at:

19. Thank you!