Study identifies factors in unsafe physician practice

Increasing age, solo practice, lack of board certification, and less than three years of residency training are key factors that correlate with unsafe practice, according to new research by the Center for Personalized Education for Physicians (CPEP). Practicing outside the scope of original training (“practice drift”) also emerged as a key factor, according to the Denver-based competence assessment and remediation services provider. Examples of practice drift include general surgeons working as primary care providers, primary care physicians providing aesthetic or cosmetic procedures, or physicians working as pain management specialists without specific training.

The study by Elizabeth S. Grace, MD, et al., examined CPEP program data to identify the predictors of performance on CPEP competency assessment. The majority of the study participants performed well or demonstrated the ability to remediate. A relatively small percentage (12.6%) performed poorly, according to the study, which was published in the June edition of Academic Medicine.   

Source: CPEP