title: Impact of physicians' part-time status on inpatients' use of medical care and their satisfaction with physicians in an academic group practice.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Medicine, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, New York 10032.
authors.forename: O T
authors.initials: OT
authors.lastname: Fein
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Garfield
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006123:Group Practice / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006746:Hospital Bed Capacity, 500 and over; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000523:psychology; D007388:Internal Medicine; D007902:Length of Stay; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009519:New York City; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies