A recent study has found that nearly half of US physicians think Obamacare will impact their career time lines in one way or the other as they will have to re-evaluate their length of stay in practice.

The study, undertaken by Jackson & Coker, a physician staffing firm, surveyed over 3,000 practicing physicians from a variety of specialties. The findings of the survey noted that nearly half of the physicians will either leave practice earlier than planned or will do it as soon as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is implemented by the Obama government.

The Affordable Care Act or more commonly known as Obamacare is likely to change the dynamics of the US healthcare industry. It aims to bring down cost of health insurance and medical care by introducing the concept of coordinated healthcare. One product which helps physicians deliver coordinated care is the “All-in-One” Cloud by CureMD. Click here to learn more about it.

It also plans to increase the number of health insurance exchanges in place to cater Americans. More importantly, it aims to cater the low income households (living at less than 400% of the federal poverty level) by offering health insurance through an Exchange. While it will put tremendous pressure on the budget, it aims to distribute the cost of health evenly amongst everyone.

30% of the respondents in the survey said they would leave medical practice as soon as it will be feasible for them after the Affordable Care Act is implemented. Another 19% said that they were likely to leave practice sooner than they had originally planned to do so.

The survey highlighted another area of concern for the physicians – compensation. Nearly 70% of the respondents thought the Affordable Care Act will negatively impact their revenue. This is the same sentiment echoed by the physicians that they will be paid less on the exchanges. It was recently reported that some insurance companies have already reduced payments to physicians in order to keep the premiums lower.

Amongst other notable findings of the survey included:

• 66% of physicians said they would have to spend more time on administrative duties because of the new law.
• 60% of physicians said the quality of patient care would be negatively impacted.
• 65% of the physicians said it would have an overall negative impact on their practice.

After the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, physicians will also be subject to more government regulation and oversight. They will be dependent on unreliable government reimbursements for medical services rendered. According to an estimate, Obamacare will affect 165 provisions of the Medicare program, virtually providing no solution to the problems Medicare physicians face. As per an estimate, physicians face a payment reduction up to 25% in 2014.

These new rules governing healthcare might look a bit too much to handle for physicians, especially at a time when the people of United States are already facing a severe physician shortage. According to an estimate by the American Association of Medical Colleges (AMA), nearly 100,000 physicians will be needed to cater the Americans by 2020.

While Obamacare has its flaws, it may be the only way forward for the healthcare industry as it aims to reduce costs and promote delivery of coordinated care to the patients. Whether the costs go up or are curtailed; only time will tell.