Most Physicians No Longer in Private Practice

According to a new study from the American Medical Association (AMA), for the first time, most physicians worked outside of physician-owned practices in 2020, continuing the trend of physicians gravitating toward hospital employment. The Physician Practice Benchmark Survey found that 49.1% of physicians worked in physician-owned practices in 2020, a drop of almost 5% from 2018 when that figure was 54%. It is 11% lower than in 2012, when 60% of physicians worked in physician-owned practices. Physicians’ age and specialty affect their likelihood of choosing employment or independent practice. Among physicians 55 and older, 55% worked in private practice last year. However, only one-third of physicians under 40 did the same.