Physician-owned private practices are becoming increasingly uncommon, according to a Jan. 18 American Medical Association podcast.
Kathleen Blake, MD, AMA's vice president of healthcare quality, discussed an Oct. 2021 AMA report that listed key barriers practices would do well to overcome and several common findings among successful private practices.
Seven key findings from the report:
1. Balancing clinical responsibilities with administrative work proves difficult for many private practice physicians. One told the AMA that the administrative burdens became so overwhelming that the partners decided to sell the practice to a hospital system.
2. Declining payment rates from insurers is a major threat to private practices, especially when compared to payments for similar procedures performed by health-system-employed physicians.
3. Many private practice physicians offset the payment rate disparity by serving on hospital boards or as directors of nursing homes and accountable care organizations, while surgeons often invested in ASCs and other care centers. Investing in building ownership was also common among private practice physician leaders.
4. Recruitment continues to prove challenging for private practices. Many told the AMA that new physicians today tend to place a premium on work-life balance, with many gravitating toward shift-based work, predictable schedules, few business worries and lower administrative burdens.
5. Once physicians are recruited, however, they tend to stick around. Most private practice physicians said they had low physician turnover. Medical assistants and front office staff, however, had higher turnover rates.
6. A critical determining factor in private practice success is choosing physician partners, the report said. The best partners are the ones who see the practice as a long-term commitment, some respondents said.
7. Governance and staffing models vary widely among private practices, and many of them can be successful. Some arranged leadership so that all partners had an equal voice and equal input in decision making, among other models. A few had rotating leadership structures.