A national survey of practice patterns of gastroenterologists with comparison to the past two decades

Previous surveys on the practice of gastroenterology collected limited data on practice demographics. Gastroenterology practices may have changed over the past decade as a result of changes in health care delivery. The author s sought to describe the practice composition and demographics of today's g astroenterologist, and also to make comparisons to prior studies to determi ne whether changes have occurred. A nationwide cross-sectional survey was p erformed in 1997 of 900 American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) memb ers selected randomly from the AGA directory. A total of 767 AGA members we re eligible for the study, and 376 responded (response rate, 49%). The mean age was 46 years old and the mean year training was completed was 1982. Th e majority of gastroenterologists were in solo or group practice (57%) and in an urban setting (55%). Respondents were fairly equally represented from different regions of the country. The most common diagnosis seen was irrit able bowel syndrome ([IBS] 19%), followed by esophageal reflux (17%) and in flammatory bowel disease (14%). Functional disorders as a group (IBS, nonul cer dyspepsia, and other functional disorders) were, by far, the most commo n disorders (35%), which is similar to findings in prior studies of grastro intestinal practices. Only 3% of gastroenterologists believed that managed care has made it easier to deliver quality health care to patients with IBS . Despite changes that have occurred in health care over the past decade, t he types of diagnoses seen in gastroenterology practices has remained the s ame. Most gastroenterologists feel that managed care has not made it easier to deliver quality health care.