The Impact Of Managed Care On The Private Practice Of Optometry In Michigan.

This research paper represents an analytical attempt to quantify the impact of managed
care on the financial viability of private optometric practices in the state of Michigan
from 1989 to 1999. The vehicle used was a detailed survey (Appendix 1) that was distributed to a pre-screened group of Michigan optometrists in the fall of 1998. The
survey addressed the following specific areas of interest:
I. Impact of
managed
care
on
the
percentage
of
self-pay
patients
seen
by
Michigan
optometrists.
2.
Summary
of
participation
in
managed
care
plans
by
Michigan
optometrists.
3.
Impact
of
managed
care
on
private
practices'
gross
revenues
and
net
incomes.
4.
Impact
of
managed
care
on
personal
workloads.
As
originally
conceived,
the
survey
was
quite
extensive
and
covered
each
research
area
in
substantive
depth.
It
was,
however,
anticipated
that
the
response
rate
would
be
inversely
proportional
to
the
length
and
complexity
of
the
survey.
Therefore,
the
level
of
detail
initially
envisioned
for
the
survey
was
significantly
diminished
to
enhance
survey
participation