August 30, 2022 – With all the challenges healthcare has faced in the last couple of years, it’s no surprise that the industry as whole is constantly shifting and changing. The latest trend signifies a greater shift towards consolidation in the healthcare marketplace, which completely changes the practice landscape for physicians.
A recent study by Avalere Health and the Physicians Advocacy Institute shows that, as of January 2022, 74% of physicians in the United States are employed by hospitals or corporate entities, growing from 62% in January 2019.
In the study, Avalere looked at two consolidation trends occurring on the national and regional levels of healthcare:
- Acquisitions of physician practices by hospitals/health systems and corporate entities like insurers and private equity firms
- Physicians leaving independent medical practices for employment with hospitals/health systems and corporate entities.
Researchers cited the pandemic as a contributing factor to this shift, finding that 108,700 additional physicians became employees of hospitals or corporations since January 2019, with 83,000 of them making the change after the onset of the pandemic.