Physician Gender and Productivity in a Managed Care Setting

Abstract

Physician productivity has been measured previously using a variety of different methods and has frequently been analyzed by gender. This study examined the role of gender and specialty on primary care physician productivity in a managed care setting. Because patient panel size more accurately reflects physician clinical contributions than patients seen per unit time, we have used a new measure of productivity: panel patients per hour (derived by dividing the panel size of each provider by the number of hours worked by that provider). The sample was composed of 133 primary care (family practice and pediatrics) physicians in a large western HMO. Analysis of variance revealed no effect of physician gender or specialty on productivity as measured by panel patients per hour. Although there was a statistically significant main effect of specialty on patients per hour (with pediatrics evidencing a higher level), the magnitude of the difference translated to a difference of only 15% of a single clinical visit per hour. Based on our data, we conclude that no gender differences in productivity among primary care physicians can be detected when appropriate analytic measures are used. We recommend that physician productivity in managed care settings be evaluated using panel patients per hour.