Impact of board certification on physician practice characteristics.

In the study reported here, the authors, using data from two American Medical Association surveys, examine the impact of board certification on selected physician practice characteristics. The results indicate that board certification is more prevalent for certain specialties, ages, types of practice, and locations of practice. Board certification has a substantial impact on the gross income of most major specialties, but these differences decline significantly for net incomes. Finally, comparisons of the hours worked per week and weeks worked per year show only small differences between board-certified and nonboard-certified physicians.