Once upon a time, a medical degree was a ticket to life-time self-employment. That no longer seems to be the case—at least not the “self” part of the phrase. For years, hospitals and health networks have been gobbling up physician practices at increasing rates. And now a new study from the Physicians Advocacy Institute (PAI) finds that, as of the beginning of 2021, just 30 percent of all physicians in the U.S. are practicing medicine independently. The remaining 70 percent are employed by hospitals, private equity firms, health insurers or other corporate entities. Whither the Independent Physician? In addition to being a fixture of the U.S. health care system, the independent physician has been a part of Americana itself perhaps best captured in the paintings of Norman Rockwell. But now that familiar family doctor has become a nostalgic memory from a long bygone era. Thanks to consolidation, most of today’s doctors are part of a corporate network. In addition to depersonalizing the physician-patient relationship, consolidation throttles competition, dampens medical practice innovation and drives up costs and health care spending. The PAI Study For nearly a decade, PAI has worked with Avalere Health to study the impact of hospital and health […]