I was reading some interesting statistics today about the practice of medicine. It used to be that doctors who graduated from medical school and finished their residencies went into private practice alone or in small groups. Nowadays, that is not the case. Hospitals either own the medical groups in which doctors practice or directly employ physicians in about 32% of all cases. That means, out of 100 doctors in a community, about 32 of them are compensated either directly or indirectly by a hospital. And the number of physicians who own some of all their practice is about 47 out of 100, leaving the majority of physicians working for either a hospital or a large corporate practice. Gone are the days (it seems) of the small town doctor. But, not all doctors have gone the way of hospital or “big medicine” practice. There are, here and there, physicians who have chosen to take the entrepreneurial step of owning and operating their own medical practices. The challenge are real for individual and small group practice physicians, but it may just be that some of the advantages of entrepreneurship among physicians may begin to outweigh the disadvantages for some physicians as time goes on. What are the pros and cons of medical entrepreneurship? Well, the cons would include (1) the cost of establishing and maintaining a medical practice, (2) the lack of the same negotiating leverage with payors, and (3) the need to do everything (billing, marketing, paperwork) yourself. But you would have the big, big “pro” of being your own boss. I am reading a book now by Dr. Steven Hacker entitled “The Medical Entrepreneur: Pearls, Pitfalls and Practical Business Advice for Doctors.” I will report back to you my thoughts after reading Dr. Hacker’s book.
