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Doctors report a slowdown in medical spending
By Jim Woods and Paul Carton
The tentacles of the economic slowdown are spreading.
According to ChangeWave's latest healthcare survey, the medical industry is seeing a deceleration in patient spending. The survey of 260 doctors, conducted Aug. 21-26, shows patients succumbing to tougher times and cutting corners in terms of health spending.
But just how frugal are patients becoming?
To get a better understanding, we asked doctors if they've noticed any change in the frequency of patient visits during the past year. Twenty-two percent said their patients have been visiting less frequently, compared to just 18% who said more frequently.
We also asked doctors a series of true-or-false questions about their practice/clinical environment. The following chart summarizes some of the key changes doctors are seeing in patient attitudes and behavior.
Not only did 73% of the doctors surveyed say patients are more concerned with medical costs than they were a year ago, but 38% reported their patients are actually breaking pills or taking lower doses of medication to extend their prescriptions and cut costs.
Thirty-four percent of doctors said they've noticed a greater number of patients refusing recommended tests or procedures because of cost, and 24% reported the number of patients who actually fill their prescriptions has been decreasing.
Elective Cosmetic Procedures Slow, Mental Health Referrals Jump
Nowhere is the slowdown in patient spending more evident than when it comes to elective procedures.
- Thirty percent of doctors reported a decrease in patient requests for elective procedures during the past 12 months, compared to just 10% of doctors who reported an increase.
- When we asked which types of cosmetic procedures had seen the biggest change in demand, cosmetic surgery registered the biggest slowdown. Twenty-one percent of doctors reported a decrease in patient demand for cosmetic surgery. Only 7% reported an increase.
- On the other hand, doctors reported that they have seen demand for other types of medical needs jump. For example, a surprisingly high 18% of doctors said they've seen an increase in mental health services referrals during the past 12 months, compared to just 1% who said they saw a decrease.
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Final Diagnosis
The healthcare industry is clearly seeing a slowdown in patient spending, according to our latest healthcare survey findings.
The cosmetic surgery sector has been hit disproportionately hard this year. And although less-invasive procedures like hair removal and the use of collagen and other dermal fillers haven't experienced a slowdown, there hasn't been any growth in these areas, either.
Not surprisingly, nearly 39% of doctors said the current economic slump is having a negative impact on their practice.
Doctor TDA3174 said his practice now has to "see more patients and stay open longer hours to compensate." Others said they are trimming back staff and making additional cost-cutting moves.
Based on these survey results, it's going to take a healthy dose of economic growth to revitalize patient healthcare spending. But don't expect a quick turnaround anytime soon. According to our latest macroeconomic survey findings, there are no major catalysts on the near-term horizon.
Paul Carton is the Director of Research for the ChangeWave Alliance Research Network. Jim Woods is ChangeWave's Senior Editor. The Research Network is a group of 20,000 highly qualified business, technology and medical professionals -- as well as early adopter consumers -- who work in leading companies of select industries. ChangeWave surveys its Network members weekly on a range of business and consumer topics, and converts the information into a series of proprietary quantitative and qualitative reports.
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