Samantha
Reba
Junior
Writer
Most doctors take pride in owning their
own practice and being independent employers. They view hospitals as
institutions where they extend care to their patients. Not as a place of
employment. But as the healthcare climate changes many physicians are foregoing
the independent route and becoming hospital employees.
The only way that independent practices
are going to survive is if:
- They’re exceptional in their field of work or one specific field (ie, gynecology or dermatology)
- They can keep up with new, cutting edge technology and practices
- Maintain their names and practice outside of hospital walls.
The main problem that is targeting independent
practices is the lack of specialists that are willing to join the ranks of a
practice outside of a hospital. Without these specialists, these independent practices
are going nowhere fast, while hospital staff is growing.
Today, less than half of doctors in the
United States own their own practices. This is due to the cost of maintaining a
practice and still being able to generate a profit at the end of the day.
“Last year, 47 percent of physicians in the U.S. were employed by hospitals – roughly twice the percentage in 2002.” Surveys by the Medical Group Management Association.
This percentage is
drastically increasing each year.
Additionally, doctors are finding it
hard to find a balance between their work and personal wellness. There are so
few doctors in practices because with two or less doctors on site, doctors are taking
on increasingly more patients, which not only increases stress but also
decreases personal wellness. A downward cycle starts of increased stress and
decreased personal wellness resulting in an independent physician no longer able
to keep up with a practice.
The decline in independent
practitioners affects other healthcare services; independent laboratories for
one. With fewer independents practitioners, hospitals and health systems may be
more inclined to use only certain medical laboratories and skip over
independent laboratories that were once supported by independent practitioners.
The facts are simple. Younger
practitioners are uncomfortable owning their own practices due to their lack of
experience and expenses, while middle aged and older physicians are looking for
jobs that will ease them into retirement and provide some cushion once they’re
done working.
“Almost twice as many physicians under
40 years old (46 percent) are looking for employment compared to their
peers age 55 years and older (25 percent).” 2007-2008 AMA Physician Practice Information Survey.
The fast decline of independent
physicians is overwhelming. If this trend continues we may see fewer independent
physicians except for specialists who have evolved along with the medicine and
treatments
