Three Powerful Physician Trends

I recently spoke to John McDaniel, President and CEO of Peak Performance Physicians, in New Orleans. His firm provides practice management services across
the U.S. and to PuertoRico and the Virgin Islands.



Three Physician Trends


According to McDaniel, physicians will react to reform by falling into three categories.

One, physicians who choose to remain in private practice, who do not change, who ride out the reform storm , and who will, in McDaniel’s opinion, suffer economically. The number of physician in private owned practices has dropped from 67% to less than 50% in the last five years.

Two, physicians who say “To hell with it,” and who leave private practice for security as hospital employees. The number of physicians who fall into this category has increased from 22% to just under 50% in the last five years.

Three, innovative risk-taking physicians who drop third party arrangements with managed care firms, Medicare, and Medicaid, and who enter into concierge or cash-only practices. The number of physician practices in this category is unknown, but McDaniel says their numbers are growing rapidly in his national practice, particularly among specialists, who are charging patients from $500 to $1000 a year for access.