Are Private Practice Doctors an Endangered Species?

According to the blue-suited stats-meisters who work at Accenture Health, less than one-third of all physicians will be in private practice by the year 2013.

The management consulting company’s new report entitled, Clinical Transformation: Dramatic Changes as Physician Employment Grows, documents the steep rise in the number of doctors bailing out of private practice and seeking employment in hospital systems.  Kristin Ficery, Accenture’s senior health executive estimates that the rate of independent physicians employed by health systems will grow by an annual rate of 5 percent over the next three  years.

Reasons that physicians leave private practice and seek employment include: burdensome administrative responsibilities and declining insurance reimbursement. Docotrs are increasingly attracted to the resources that health systems offer, as well as manageable work weeks and job stability, Accenture says.

Those who choose to remain independent and stay in private or small-group practice are increasingly turning to non-insurance practice models. These innovative strategies are the focus of Holistic Primary Care’s upcoming 2011 Heal Thy Practice: Transforming Primary Care conference in Long Beach, CA, Nov. 4-6. For more information click here.

 
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