Practice activity trends among oral and maxillofacial surgeons in Australia.
BACKGROUND
The aim of this study was to describe practice activity trends among oral and maxillofacial surgeons in Australia over time.


METHODS
All registered oral and maxillofacial surgeons in Australia were surveyed in 1990 and 2000 using mailed self-complete questionnaires.


RESULTS
Data were available from 79 surgeons from 1990 (response rate = 73.8%) and 116 surgeons from 2000 (response rate = 65.1%). The rate of provision of services per visit changed over time with increased rates observed overall (from 1.43 +/- 0.05 services per visit in 1990 to 1.66 +/- 0.06 services per visit in 2000), reflecting increases in pathology and reconstructive surgery. No change over time was observed in the provision of services per year (4,521 +/- 286 services per year in 1990 and 4,503 +/- 367 services per year in 2000). Time devoted to work showed no significant change over time (1,682 +/- 75 hours per year in 1990 and 1,681 +/- 94 hours per year in 2000), while the number of visits per week declined (70 +/- 4 visits per week in 1990 to 58 +/- 4 visits per week in 2000).


CONCLUSIONS
The apparent stability in the volume of services provided per year reflected a counterbalancing of increased services provided per visit and a decrease in the number of visits supplied.
Brennan
David S
DS
Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health, Dental School, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Australia. david.brennan@adelaide.edu.au <david.brennan@adelaide.edu.au>
Spencer
A John
AJ
Singh
Kiran A
KA
Teusner
Dana N
DN
Goss
Alastair N
AN
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D001315:Australia; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009819:Office Visits / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011215:Practice Management, Dental / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013515:Surgery, Oral / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016526:Workload / Q000706:statistics & numerical data