AMA: Majority of Physicians Now Do Not Work in Private Practice May 24, 2021

The American Medical Association shared this week that the percentage of physicians nationwide working for a practice majority-owned by physicians dropped under 50%.

The finding is part of the AMA's Physician Practice Benchmark Surveys, which includes survey responses between September and October 2020. The downturn in private practice physicians has been observed since 2012 in the surveys, but the downturn has been especially pronounced since 2018. In 2018, 54% of respondents worked in a wholly-physician-owned practice. In 2020, that number dropped to 49.1%. That represents an 11% drop since 2012. In addition, almost 40% of respondents last year reported working for a hospital or practice owned by a hospital or health system.

The report also notes that the idea of a "typical" physician practice is impossible to define. The surveys show that physicians work in a variety of practice types, although there is a notable increase in physicians working in practices with at least 50 physicians. 

You can read the entire report here.