Updated Physician Practice Acquisition Study: Changes in Physician Employment (2012-2018)

Physicians Leaving Private Practices for Hospitals: A Growing Trend

Physicians are increasingly leaving private practices to join hospital networks, states a new report from the Physicians Advocacy Institute.

From July 2016 to January 2018, hospitals in the United States acquired approximately 8,000 private medical practices. Over the same period, 14,000 physicians left private practice to work for hospitals. In 2012, hospitals operated 35,700 private practices. By 2018, that number increased to more than 80,000. Currently, 44 percent of physicians work for hospitals.

The trend affects consumers because outpatient hospital services are typically more expensive than services delivered by private medical practices.

You can download the report here:

https://www.heartland.org/_template-assets/documents/publications/021919-Avalere-PAI-Physician-Employment-Trends-Study-2018-Update.pdf