Table 1.
Characteristics of Cancer Care Outcomes Research and Surveillance Consortium physicians and their practice settings (N = 1533)*
| Characteristic | Medical oncologists | Radiation oncologists | Surgeons |
| No. (% of total) | 496 (32.4) | 228 (14.9) | 809 (52.7) |
| Physicians, No. (%) | |||
| Age, y | |||
| <50 | 245 (49.5) | 112 (49.2) | 379 (46.9) |
| 50–59 | 183 (37.0) | 62 (27.3) | 267 (33.0) |
| ≥60 | 67 (13.5) | 54 (23.5) | 163 (20.1) |
| Sex | |||
| Male | 376 (75.8) | 181 (79.4) | 727 (89.8) |
| Female | 120 (24.2) | 47 (20.6) | 82 (10.2) |
| US or Canadian medical school graduate | |||
| Yes | 380 (76.6) | 197 (86.4) | 720 (89.0) |
| No | 116 (23.4) | 31 (13.6) | 89 (11.0) |
| Practice setting, No. (%) | |||
| Income increases as a result of enrolling patients on clinical trials | |||
| Yes | 62 (12.5) | 13 (5.7) | 16 (2.0) |
| No | 434 (87.5) | 215 (94.3) | 793 (98.0) |
| Practice type | |||
| Office based, solo | 52 (10.5) | 4 (1.8) | 129 (16.2) |
| Office based, group† | 275 (55.8) | 57 (25.1) | 244 (30.8) |
| Hospital based | 167 (33.7) | 156 (73.1) | 421(53.0) |
| Practice size, No. of physicians | |||
| 1–5 | 241 (48.6) | 140 (61.5) | 439 (54.2) |
| 6–10 | 87 (17.6) | 47 (20.5) | 144 (17.9) |
| 11–20 | 84 (16.9) | 21 (9.3) | 71 (8.8) |
| >20 | 84 (16.9) | 20 (8.7) | 154 (19.1) |
| Study site | |||
| Five large HMOs‡ | 39 (7.9) | 22 (9.7) | 63 (7.8) |
| Northern California counties | 124 (25.0) | 48 (21.0) | 207 (25.6) |
| Los Angeles County | 115 (23.2) | 51 (22.4) | 187 (23.1) |
| State of Alabama | 51 (10.3) | 31 (13.6) | 142 (17.6) |
| State of Iowa | 52 (10.5) | 28 (12.3) | 40 (4.9) |
| State of North Carolina | 51 (10.2) | 23 (10.0) | 114 (14.1) |
| Veteran’s Administration | 64 (12.9) | 25 (11.0) | 56 (6.9) |
| Practice affiliated with a CCOP | |||
| Yes | 165 (33.2) | 93 (41.0) | 267 (33.0) |
| No | 331 (66.8) | 135 (59.0) | 542 (67.0) |
| Practice affiliated with an NCI-designated cancer center | |||
| Yes | 110 (22.1) | 49 (21.4) | 236 (29.2) |
| No | 386 (77.9) | 179 (78.6) | 573 (70.8) |
| Physician practice style, No. (%) | |||
| Percentage of patients in managed care, quartiles | |||
| 0–20 | 143 (28.7) | 61 (26.7) | 166 (20.5) |
| 21–49 | 113 (22.8) | 61 (26.8) | 152 (18.8) |
| 50–78 | 101 (20.4) | 66 (29.0) | 230 (28.4) |
| 79–100 | 139 (28.1) | 40 (17.5) | 262 (32.3) |
| Teaches medical students and/or residents | |||
| Yes | 259 (52.3) | 94 (41.2) | 420 (51.9) |
| No | 237 (47.7) | 134 (58.8) | 389 (48.1) |
| Attends tumor board meetings | |||
| Weekly | 334 (67.4) | 187 (81.9) | 279 (34.5) |
| Monthly | 109 (22.0) | 32 (14.1) | 262 (32.3) |
| Quarterly or less frequently | 53 (10.6) | 9 (4.0) | 269 (33.2) |
| No. of colorectal or lung cancer patients seen per month | |||
| <5 | 40 (8.0) | 42 (18.6) | 525 (65.0) |
| 5–9 | 65 (13.0) | 69 (30.4) | 136 (16.8) |
| 10–19 | 97 (19.6) | 69 (30.1) | 97 (12.0) |
| ≥20 | 294 (59.4) | 48 (20.9) | 50 (6.2) |
| Time spent with a newly diagnosed cancer patient, min | |||
| <60 | 181 (36.5) | 36 (16.0) | 658 (81.4) |
| ≥60 | 315 (63.5) | 192 (84.0) | 151 (18.6) |
*
CCOP = Community Clinical Oncology Program; HMO = health maintenance organization; NCI = National Cancer Institute.
†
Includes office-based HMOs, community health centers, and other (a questionnaire item).
‡
Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Henry Ford Health System, Kaiser Permanente Northwest, and Kaiser Permanente Hawaii.