For Immediate Release:

U.S. Physicians Rate Iraqi War Higher Priority than Health Care Issues

-- Vast Majority Report Difficulty in Obtaining Adequate Quantities --

FLEMINGTON, NJ, October 27, 2004 -- Results of a new national survey revealed that U.S. physicians rate the war in Iraq as the most important issue in next week’s election followed by health care issues.

The national e-survey was conducted by readmylipz.com, a partnership between Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion (MCIPO) and HCD Research during October 26-27, among a nationally representative sample of more than 1,100 primary care physicians.

Among the findings:

More than half of the physicians (56.4%) report that they plan to vote for President Bush if the election were held today. Approximately one third (33.2%) would vote for Senator Kerry.
The vast majority of physicians (93.7%) agree that medical malpractice reform is an important issue in next week’s election.
Conversely, only about one fourth (26%) believe that the non-medical public regard medical malpractice reform as an important issue in the presidential election.
Approximately four in 10 physicians (42.9%) agree that, while malpractice costs have risen, the costs only represent a small fraction of health care costs.
Similar to voting intentions, the majority of physicians (58%) believe that President Bush has a clear understanding of health care issues, while one-third (32%) believe Senator Kerry has a clear understanding of health care issues.
Physicians ranked the War in Iraq first among six issues presented to them followed by health care issues, domestic non-medical issues, trust in the incumbent, lack of trust in the opposing candidate and other issues.
While only 11 % of physicians require that patients sign a liability waiver to minimize their legal risk, half of these physicians (51.5%) report that they are likely to adopt them in the future.
Reflecting national demographics, the vast majority of these physicians (85.6%) report that nothing could happen between now and the election to make them change their vote.

Read My Lipz.com was developed by HCD Research in conjunction with the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, (MCIPO) and Emmy Award-winning Network Television Producer Stu Kreisman. Headquartered in Flemington, New Jersey, HCD Research is a pioneer in Internet health care marketing and advertising research. Headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, MCIPO is a respected source of public opinion data on local, state and national issues. Kreisman is a writer/producer best known for his work on popular network television series such as Cheers, Night Court, Newhart and SCTV. For more information or to share your views on current campaign political advertising, access www.readmylipz.com.

For more information or to schedule an interview with Glenn Kessler, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, HCD Research or Chris Borick, Ph.D., Associate Political Science Professor, Muhlenberg College, please contact Vince McGourty, M&M Communications, Inc., at 908-713-1267 or vinmcg@earthlink.net.

Contact:

Vince McGourty
M&M Communications, Inc.
(908) 713-1267
vinmcg@earthlink.net

Glenn Kessler
HCD Research
908-788-9393
glenn.kessler@hcdi.net