Practice, clinical management, and financial arrangements of practicing generalists: are they associated with satisfaction?

OBJECTIVE: To describe the practice settings, financial arrangements, and management strategies experienced by generalist physicians and identify factors associated with reporting pressure to limit referrals, pressure to see more patients, and career dissatisfaction. DESIGN: Cross-sectional mail survey. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Six hundred nineteen generalist physicians (62% response rate) caring for managed care patients in 3 Minnesota health plans during 1999. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Twenty-six percent of physicians reported pressure to limit referrals. In adjusted analyses, female physicians and those who were board certified acted as gatekeepers for most of their patients, received incentives based on performance reports and quality profiles, and received direct income from capitation, and were more likely than others to report this pressure (all P