The positive impact of physicians on patient and population health is evident in local communities throughout the United States. However, that measure of impact fails to capture other less obvious influences of physicians on their surrounding communities. Measuring economic impact is difficult to do, but is very important for evaluating the significance of physicians in their local, state and national economies beyond the improved health of its citizens. In 2014, IMS Health conducted an Economic Impact Analysis for the American Medical Association to quantify those effects,1 affirming the value of physicians beyond individual patient care. To do this, the researchers examined both direct and indirect economic benefits provided by physicians.
Direct Benefits: Direct benefits are economic impacts produced from physicians. These include medical revenues generated from patient care, jobs created by the physician industry, wages and benefits of physicians and other professionals hired to support patient care, and taxes...
