Disappearance of Solo Practitioners and Other Stories

Solo physicians accounted for just 1% of our searches last year, down from 22% in 2004.  The demise of the solo doc is now official. Basically, no one wants to be one and no one is looking for one.

Phillip Miller, Vice-President, Merritt Hawkins and  Staff

July 3, 2012 -  When I am looking for solid information on what’s happening to physicians and how they are reacting to  reform pressures,  I turn to three reliable sources,

One, Merritt Hawkins and Associates, the nation’s largest physician recruiting firm, located in Irving, Texas.   Merritt Hawkins does an  annual survey of its recruiting activities. 

What did they find this year?

“63% of searches featured hospital employment of physicians, up from 56% last year and 11% in 2004.  At this rate, within two years, over 75% of nearly hired doctors will be hospital employees.  There was a big uptick in the number of facilities rewarding doctors for meeting quality metics, though increased volume is still the best way to incease their incomes.”   For more information and details, call 469-524-1420, Fax 972-983-0709,  email phil.miller@amnhealthcare.com, or visit the sebsite www.amnhealthcare.com

Two, The Physicians Foundation (physiciansfoundation. org).  This non-profit organization,  which represents physicians in 19 state and  local medical societies,  has rewarded over $25 million in grants to physicians and other health care organizations to improve medical practices and has conducted a number of groundbreaking national surveys to ascertain how doctors are responding to economic and reform pressures.  The Foundation recently published a survey of how young physicians are responding to health reform and how they view their future.  And it has just completed an E-survey of 650,000 physicians,  the largest of its kind ever undertaken.  Results will be published in September or October before the November elections.

Three,  Medinnovation Readership.   My blog, Medinnovation,  “Where Health Reform, Medical Innovation, and Physician Practices Meet,” is now 6 years old and has over 2200  entries.  I write daily posts.   I track and comment on issues of health reform and medical innovation.    The number of “hits,” i.e, page views, I  receive are steadily increasing and some days reach over 1000.    In the last month,  the period leading up to the Supreme Court affirmation on the constitutionality of Obamacare, my blog has been the target of over 10,000 hits.   These hits  fell into these top four categories :  1)  The future of physician practices; 2) the economic and regulatory pressures of reform; 3) the consolidation of practices into hospitals and academic institutions with ensuing hospital employment of physicians; 4)  the short-falls, barriers,  how-tos,  and  opportunities of  electronic medical records

Here at the top 10 most visited posts over the last month.

Size Matters: Hospital Consolidation and Physicians May 27, 2012

ReputationMatters: The Expansion of America’s Top Doctors into Different Geographic Regions. Jun 14, 2012

Is Practice Fusion’s “Free” EHR for Real? May 23, 2010

Texas and the Future of Health Reform in America.. Jul 1, 2012

Electronic Health Records for the Birds for Some Physicians.. Jun 16, 2012

EHR Cloud Computing on a Roll.. Jun 12, 2012

Health Care Future Bright for Nurses. Stinks for Doctors Dec 28, 2011

Effect of Obamacare on Doctors Nov 12, 2010

Obamacare Constitutional Roulette: The Game Is On!... Jun 23, 2012

"Health Policy Groups Prepare for a Day of Spin",  Jun 27, 2012

Tweet:  Physicians are reacting to current Obamacare issues by lamenting their future, becoming hospital employees, and considering their EHR Options.