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The Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) has released results from its annual Health Tracking Physician Survey, which examines physician demographics, pay and satisfaction, the Wall Street Journal reports. Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the survey was based on telephone responses from 4,700 practicing physicians across the United States. According to the data, nearly one-third of physicians in 2008 worked in solo or two-physician practices, while 15 percent worked in practices of between three and five physicians, and 19 percent worked in practices of between six and 50 physicians. In addition, 13 percent practiced in hospital settings, with 44 percent of these physicians working in office practices or clinics, 28 percent working in emergency departments and another 28 percent working as hospital staff. More than 80 percent of physicians reported working full time, 53 percent of whom were between age 40 and age 55, and approximately one-quarter of whom had been practicing medicine for more than 20 years. Nine out of 10 physicians were board certified and 22 percent had received their training outside of the United States. Meanwhile, nearly 40 percent were primary care physicians, 35 percent were medical specialists and 26 percent were surgeons. According to the survey, nearly three-fourths of U.S. physicians in 2008 were men, but for those younger than age 40, approximately 41 percent were women, "signaling how the composition of the physician workforce may change in the future." Meanwhile, three out of four physicians identified themselves as white, non-Hispanic, while 3.8 percent said they were black, non-Hispanic; 5.3 percent said they were Hispanic; and 17.2 percent were Asian or other races. However, among physicians younger than age 40, approximately two-thirds identified themselves as white and 33 percent as minority. Meanwhile, the survey revealed that four out of five physicians were very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their careers. Physicians who earned $250,000 or more per year were significantly more likely than their lower-paid peers to say they were very satisfied with their career, and physicians specializing in pediatrics were the most likely to report job satisfaction. Although results from the 2008 survey cannot be compared with previous findings because of changes in survey administration, the authors write that it "establishes a new baseline that will allow future tracking of how physicians organize and practice medicine." The HSC president adds that this understanding is "critical" as policy-makers "engage in the most serious discussion of comprehensive health care reform in 15 years" (Goldstein, Wall Street Journal, 9/3/09 [subscription required]; HSC release, 9/3/09; HSC report, September 2009; RWJF report, 9/3/09).