Table 2.
Patient, Practice, Visit Content, and Geographic Characteristics by Physician Specialty, 2006-2007
| Characteristic | Oncologists |
Other Physicians |
P | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Weighted Distribution |
No. | Weighted Distribution |
||||
| % | SE | % | SE | ||||
| Patient characteristic | |||||||
| Age, years | .120 | ||||||
| < 50 | 229 | 13.8 | 1.2 | 97 | 12.6 | 2.1 | |
| 50-64 | 523 | 32.9 | 1.7 | 256 | 30.5 | 2.9 | |
| 65-74 | 420 | 27.1 | 1.8 | 230 | 28.5 | 3.7 | |
| ≥ 75 | 406 | 26.2 | 1.7 | 309 | 28.5 | 3.5 | |
| Sex | < .001 | ||||||
| F | 992 | 60.4 | 2.2 | 301 | 44.9 | 3.2 | |
| M | 586 | 39.6 | 2.2 | 591 | 55.1 | 3.2 | |
| Race/ethnicity | .092 | ||||||
| Non-Hispanic white | 1,244 | 80.2 | 2.6 | 718 | 80.3 | 2.6 | |
| Non-Hispanic black | 178 | 11.1 | 2.0 | 90 | 6.5 | 1.1 | |
| Non-Hispanic other | 40 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 27 | 2.9* | 1.2 | |
| Hispanic | 116 | 6.7 | 1.6 | 57 | 10.3 | 2.2 | |
| Health insurance | .435 | ||||||
| Private | 645 | 39.9 | 2.8 | 334 | 39.5 | 4.3 | |
| Medicare | 711 | 44.3 | 2.5 | 448 | 47.0 | 3.9 | |
| Medicaid | 108 | 6.7 | 1.1 | 54 | 7.2 | 2.0 | |
| Uninsured | 34 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 12 | 3.2* | 1.5 | |
| Other | 80 | 6.7 | 2.2 | 44 | 3.2 | 0.8 | |
| New patient | 114 | 24.7 | 2.6 | 70 | 26.1 | 3.2 | .739 |
| Cancer type | < .001 | ||||||
| Lung/larynx | 178 | 10.4 | 1.1 | 60 | 13.7 | 2.7 | |
| Female breast | 450 | 30.2 | 2.1 | 108 | 14.5 | 2.7 | |
| Prostate | 65 | 5.3 | 1.1 | 356 | 24.1 | 2.9 | |
| Colorectal | 219 | 12.7 | 1.7 | 57 | 7.6 | 1.9 | |
| Lymphoma/leukemia | 264 | 14.4 | 1.6 | 53 | 8.2 | 1.8 | |
| Melanoma | 36 | 2.5* | 0.8 | 25 | 4.5* | 1.4 | |
| Other | 366 | 24.6 | 2.0 | 233 | 27.4 | 2.8 | |
| Stage (excludes leukemia) | .001 | ||||||
| In situ | 110 | 7.7 | 2.3 | 63 | 6.2 | 1.5 | |
| Local | 364 | 25.3 | 3.0 | 265 | 27.0 | 2.9 | |
| Regional | 216 | 14.3 | 2.5 | 64 | 6.2 | 1.1 | |
| Distant | 266 | 14.1 | 2.1 | 38 | 5.0* | 2.0 | |
| Unknown | 542 | 38.6 | 5.3 | 453 | 55.8 | 3.5 | |
| No. of other chronic conditions | 1,578 | 0.8† | 0.1 | 892 | 0.9† | 0.1 | .678 |
| Practice characteristic | |||||||
| Physician owned | 1,354 | 82.7 | 4.5 | 795 | 85.4 | 3.9 | .645 |
| Compensation | |||||||
| Patient satisfaction | 266 | 18.2 | 4.6 | 78 | 7.7 | 2.0 | .007 |
| Physician productivity | 565 | 37.1 | 7.1 | 229 | 25.5 | 5.2 | .161 |
| Quality | 298 | 19.1 | 4.6 | 98 | 10.3 | 2.6 | .046 |
| Practice profiling | 79 | 6.0* | 2.8 | 61 | 7.5* | 3.4 | .721 |
| > 25% revenue performance-based | 51 | 4.6* | 2.4 | 92 | 5.1* | 2.2 | .861 |
| > 25% capitation | 27 | 4.1* | 2.8 | 25 | 6.0* | 2.1 | .602 |
| Visit content characteristic | |||||||
| Referred to the physician | 521 | 47.5 | 5.0 | 255 | 39.0 | 3.8 | .159 |
| Patient reason for visit | .001 | ||||||
| Symptoms | 190 | 12.6 | 2.5 | 166 | 26.0 | 3.4 | |
| Cancer | 553 | 37.7 | 5.4 | 297 | 25.7 | 4.0 | |
| Chemotherapy/injections | 183 | 8.1 | 2.2 | 31 | 1.8* | 0.6 | |
| Tests, examinations, medications | 190 | 11.5 | 2.7 | 127 | 14.2 | 1.9 | |
| Pre-/postoperative follow-up | 342 | 18.0 | 2.9 | 202 | 18.7 | 3.2 | |
| Other | 120 | 12.1 | 2.2 | 69 | 13.6 | 3.2 | |
| Provider's reason for visit | < .001 | ||||||
| New problem | 178 | 23.2 | 2.7 | 137 | 26.0 | 3.3 | |
| Chronic problem | |||||||
| Routine | 1,191 | 62.4 | 3.2 | 464 | 39.2 | 3.5 | |
| Flare-up | 107 | 6.1 | 1.3 | 52 | 6.7 | 1.7 | |
| Before/after surgery | 34 | 4.6* | 1.5 | 165 | 16.6 | 2.8 | |
| Preventive care | 29 | 1.8* | 0.5 | 52 | 8.8 | 2.6 | |
| Unknown | 39 | 1.9* | 0.9 | 22 | 2.7* | 1.3 | |
| Anticancer drug | 709 | 39.8 | 3.8 | 178 | 16.5 | 3.0 | < .001 |
| Radiation therapy | 87 | 6.6 | 1.4 | 23 | 1.4* | 0.5 | < .001 |
| Diagnostic/screening services | 1,578 | 5.4† | 0.2 | 892 | 4.0† | 0.3 | < .001 |
| Health education services | 1,578 | 0.4† | 0.1 | 892 | 0.4† | 0.1 | .289 |
| Referred to another physician | 97 | 10.0 | 1.4 | 104 | 15.7 | 2.8 | .034 |
| Geographic characteristic | |||||||
| MSA | 1,441 | 91.6 | 3.5 | 754 | 78.9 | 10.1 | .007 |
| Region | .827 | ||||||
| Northeast | 307 | 21.0 | 3.8 | 197 | 18.3 | 3.9 | |
| Midwest | 377 | 22.5 | 4.8 | 181 | 19.4 | 4.3 | |
| South | 577 | 37.9 | 5.5 | 357 | 44.7 | 7.6 | |
| West | 317 | 18.6 | 4.6 | 157 | 17.5 | 4.1 | |
| Socioeconomic indicators, % | |||||||
| Poverty (lowest quartile) | 176 | 8.2 | 1.7 | 107 | 13.4 | 3.2 | .168 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher education (lowest quartile) | 310 | 18.7 | 2.8 | 175 | 18.6 | 2.2 | .977 |
Abbreviation: MSA, metropolitan statistical area.
*
Estimates based on fewer than 30 observations and/or with a relative SE > 0.30 are considered unreliable by the standards of the National Center for Health Statistics.
†
Represents the mean of a continuous variable, not a percentage.