National Survey of Small and Medium-Sized Physician Practices (NSSMPP), 2007-2009

Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the National Study of Small and Medium-sized Physician Practices (NSSMPP) was designed to provide information about physician practices with 1-19 physicians. The survey focused on the use of information technology and care management processes for four major chronic illnesses: asthma, congestive heart failure, depression, and diabetes. Other topics covered by the survey include practice type, size, ownership and the breakdown of patients by race and Hispanic origin; clinical preventative services and health promotion; health insurance plan activities in preventative care and care for patients with chronic illness; performance reporting and incentives; revenue sources and compensation methods; and organizational culture.
NSSMPP was also designed to assist the RWJF-funded Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q) project by providing baseline data about small and medium sized practices in the AF4Q sites. AF4Q was a national program that aimed to lift the quality of health care in 16 targeted communities, reduce racial and ethnic disparities in those communities and provide models for national reform.
NSSMPP built on two previous studies -- the National Study of Physician Organizations and the Management of Chronic Illness (NSPO), 2000-2001 (ICPSR 4455) and the National Study of Physician Organizations and the Management of Chronic Illness II (NSPO2), 2006-2007 (ICPSR 29801) -- which collected information about medical groups and independent practice associations (IPAs) with 20 or more physicians.