Most U.S. consumers are satisfied with their primary-care physician and blame several entities other than their doctor for the rising cost of healthcare, according to a Harris Interactive survey conducted on behalf of the Physicians Foundation (PDF).
Of the 2,236 adults surveyed in July, 78% reported having a family physician or a primary-care doctor. Among those who had visited their doctor in the past year, 79% said they were either "very satisfied" or "extremely satisfied" with those visits. Only 1% said they were "not at all satisfied," the report said. The older the patient, the higher the reported satisfaction, with 83% of respondents over 55 years old saying they were very or extremely satisfied with their doctor.
Participants were asked also who they thought was responsible for the rising cost of healthcare. Three-quarters said insurance companies were very or completely responsible; 74% said the same of drug companies. More than six in 10 (64%) placed responsibility with consumers for failing to take responsibility for their own health, and nearly the same share (62%) blamed rising healthcare costs on the cost of malpractice insurance. Fifty-nine percent blamed the government. Slightly more than half blamed hospitals, but only 30% thought doctors were very or completely responsible for rising costs.
