A survey of health care needs of physicians.
The healthcare needs of physician are not well studied.



We surveyed physicians attending a large primary care conference about their access and perceived barriers to receiving healthcare services.



Response rate was 46 % (270/592). The majority were trained in family medicine. The age category of above 60 years was the most common (39 %) and 46 % were women. Important difficulty in accessing healthcare services was reported by 39 % of physicians and the majority (61 %) reported reverting to self-diagnosis and self-treatment. Female physicians reported more difficulties than male physicians (p < 0.001 for difficulty in securing access and p = 0.02 for self-diagnosis and treatment). The barriers cited were finding time for healthcare, concern about confidentiality, and lack of encouragement by employer. Respondents reported experiencing a career threatening illness themselves (20 %) or in a colleague (81 %). Forty-two percent experienced being concerned about a colleague being able to safely practice due to illness. Participants ranked substance abuse as the most common illnesses affecting a physician's ability to practice followed by psychiatric disorders, heart disease, neurological disorders and cancer.



Physicians face important barriers to accessing healthcare services. Female physicians report worse access. The identified barriers are modifiable. This survey calls for efforts to improve physicians' health that require collaboration among physicians, employers and policymakers.
Evidence-Based Practice Research Program, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.|Mayo Clinic Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery, Rochester, MN, USA.|Division of Preventive, Occupational, and Aerospace Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA.
Khalid
K
Benkhadra
Evidence-Based Practice Research Program, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.|Division of Preventive, Occupational, and Aerospace Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA.
Jayanth
J
Adusumalli
Evidence-Based Practice Research Program, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.|Division of Preventive, Occupational, and Aerospace Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA.
Tamim
T
Rajjo
Division of Preventive, Occupational, and Aerospace Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA.
Philp T
PT
Hagen
Evidence-Based Practice Research Program, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.|Mayo Clinic Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery, Rochester, MN, USA.
Zhen
Z
Wang
Evidence-Based Practice Research Program, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA. Murad.Mohammad@mayo.edu.|Mayo Clinic Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery, Rochester, MN, USA. Murad.Mohammad@mayo.edu.|Division of Preventive, Occupational, and Aerospace Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA. Murad.Mohammad@mayo.edu.
M Hassan
0000-0001-5502-5975
MH
Murad
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003219:Confidentiality; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000592:standards; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008910:Minnesota; D020380:Needs Assessment; D010465:Perception; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Healthcare access; Physician health; Survey; Wellness