As physicians flock to payer and hospital employment models, Eric Mehlberg, MD, thinks independence is the solution.
Dr. Mehlber, an anesthesiologist at Comprehensive Pain Specialists in Golden, Colo., spoke with Becker's to discuss what is drawing physicians to private practice.
Editor's note: This interview was edited lightly for clarity and brevity.
Question: What's driving the next generation of physicians to private practice?
Dr. Eric Mehlberg: The No. 1 draw for private practice has been, historically, remuneration. I am not sure that is really true any more. Going forward, as insurers gobble up providers and hospitals gobble up providers, I believe the biggest attraction to independent practice will be avoidance of moral hazard and autonomy. These are the values we should be concerned about losing as medicine becomes 'Kaiserified.'
Q: Where does physician education fall short?
EM: Clinician instructors cocooned inside academia have no experience teaching private practice. When I was training, there was an implication that those who went into private practice "sold out." Quite to the contrary, I can do what my current understanding of "best" is for each of my patients. Medical education needs to focus less on meaningless test scores and case logs and grant trainees exposure to clinical environments they are interested in.