30,000 U.S. Physicians Tell WebMD about Finances, Politics, Health and Everything in Between
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(HealthNewDigest.com) – Medscape from WebMD, the leading source of health information for physicians, surveyed 30,000 U.S. physicians for the first annual Medscape Physician Lifestyle Report. The results provide physicians and patients alike with interesting insights about doctors’ private lives. The comprehensive report explores physicians’ health, happiness, savings, political leanings and more.
Here are some key findings of the survey – some of which may surprise you:
Savings – Nearly 40 percent of doctors in active practice – in comparison to only about 12 percent of retired physicians – report having minimal to no savings, reflecting the more difficult economic climate for the younger generation of physicians. The specialty with the most physicians who reported unmanageable debt was plastic surgery at nearly 10 percent.
Politics – The most fiscally and socially conservative physicians tend to be in the operating room, with plastic surgeons, orthopaedists and anesthesiologists at 80 percent or higher, while the most fiscally and socially liberal physicians are infectious disease physicians and psychiatrists at nearly 75 percent.
Happiness – Nearly half (46 percent) of doctors surveyed report being happier at home than at work.
Marriage – The vast majority (81 percent) of physicians are married; that’s a much higher marriage rate than that of the general U.S. population which is about half (48 percent) according to the most recent U.S. Census.
Weight – Nearly 40 percent of physicians are overweight or obese, with the generalists tending to be heavier than their subspecialist peers.
Exercise – Older doctors are hitting the gym more than their younger counterparts. Nearly half (48 percent) of physicians in their 30’s exercise at least twice a week, while nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of those over 61 exercise two times or more per week.
Volunteerism – The majority (66 percent) of U.S. physicians participate in some form of volunteerism; about a quarter (23 percent) do pro-bono work in a local clinic.
Vacation – Only 20 percent of U.S. physicians take more than 4 weeks of vacation each year. And nearly one-third (32 percent) take two or less weeks a year – which is similar to most Americans.
Medscape is the flagship site in WebMD’s Professional Network, which receives over 2.8 million U.S. physician visits per month. Medscape.com and Medscape Mobile are free registration-based services that provide physicians and other healthcare professionals with comprehensive resources across more than 30 different medical specialty areas.
Medscape is uniquely able to reach healthcare professionals across any digital device, now with 2 million registered users for Medscape Mobile. It is the leading, free medical app for healthcare professionals available on smartphones and tablets for Apple iPhone® and iPad®, Android™, Blackberry®, and Kindle Fire™. Additional details are available at www.medscapemobile.com.
To view the complete Medscape Physician Lifestyle Report 2012, visit Medscape. More information on the report can also be found on WebMD.
Survey Methodology
The Medscape Physician Lifestyle Report 2012 survey was fielded to 292,251 U.S. physicians, yielding a total of 29,025 respondents across 25 specialty areas. The fieldwork was conducted by Medscape from Jan. 12, 2012-Jan. 27, 2012. The data was collected via a third-party online survey collection site.
About WebMD
WebMD Health Corp. (Nasdaq: WBMD) is the leading provider of health information services, serving consumers, physicians, healthcare professionals, employers, and health plans through our public and private online portals, mobile platforms and health-focused publications. The WebMD Health Network includes WebMD Health, Medscape, MedicineNet, emedicineHealth, RxList, theheart.org and Medscape Education.
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