Private Practice Isn’t Dead
The following is from Greg Scandlen’s Consumer Power Report newsletter:
American physicians in clinical practice break down like this:
- 32% in solo or two-physician practices
- 15% in groups of 3-5 docs
- 19% in groups of 6-10 docs
- 13% are hospital-based
- 7% in medical schools and universities
- 6% in groups of more than 50 docs
- 4% in group or staff-model HMOs
- 3% in community health centers
The days of the independent practitioner are far from over.
Break those numbers down by physician age and length of time to retirement and you will probably draw a different conclusion.
If they had been given free reign, Congress would have forced 100% of doctors to work for the government. As bad as Obamacare is, I suppose it could have been worse.
It may not be dead, but it’s definitely dying.
Seamus may be right. About one-third of doctors work in one or two person offices; nearly half work in small groups of half a dozen physicians or less. But young doctors increasingly want to avoid the problems associated with billing, collections and office overhead. Many are opting for specialties that provide a better work/life balance. Often times, that means working for someone else and picking up a paycheck.