Canadian Health Information Management Association Practice Exam

Unless salaried, physicians are considered:

1. Private for profit service provider.

2. Private not for profit service provider.

3. Public for profit service provider.

4. Public not for profit service provider.

The correct answer is: Private for profit service provider.

Physicians who are not salaried typically operate within a private practice setting, where they have the autonomy to determine their fees and manage their resources with the direct intention of earning a profit. This aligns with the definition of a private for profit service provider, where the primary objective is to generate income through the services offered. In contrast, choices that suggest a not-for-profit status are incorrect, as those imply that any earnings would be reinvested back into the organization or community rather than distributed as profit to the owners or stakeholders. Additionally, the public service designations do not apply here, since a private practice does not operate under governmental ownership or mission. Thus, the understanding of the operational structure and intention behind physicians' practices that are not salaried supports the classification as private for profit service providers.