A survey of the working status of family medicine physicians in clinics and hospitals in Korea

BACKGROUND: In the approximately 35 years since family medicine was established in South Korea, family medicine physicians have sought to expand their expertise to cover clinical fields beyond primary medicine. This study examines their working status and compares the working conditions of family medicine physicians in clinics and hospitals in Korea. METHODS: We conducted an online survey with 4057 family medicine physicians in Korea in 2016. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Of the respondents, 572 doctors were working in clinics and 441 in hospitals. In the analysis of treatment pattern by doctors, the rate of chronic disease management was 84.7% in clinics and 93.4% in hospitals (p < 0.001), and the rate of diseases covered by national insurance was 74.8% in clinics and 76.9% in hospitals (p = 0.005). Among physicians younger than 40 years, the rate of chronic disease management and diseases covered by national insurance were 64.6 and 68.0% in clinics and 93.6 and 78.5% in hospitals, retrospectively. CONCLUSIONS: Family medicine physicians working in hospitals have higher rates of chronic disease management and diseases covered by national insurance. This discrepancy of treatment pattern became larger for doctors younger than 40 years. More in-depth studies of the treatment pattern and its tendencies between family medicine physicians in clinics and hospitals are needed in the future.