Here are 10 statistics illustrating the decline of private practice physicians:
1. From 2012 to 2024, the number of physicians employed by hospitals and health systems jumped from 25.8% to 55.1%, according to a report from Physicians Advocacy Institute and Avalere
2. From 2022 to 2023, 19,100 additional physicians became employees of hospitals or other corporate entities, a 5.1% increase since 2022.
3. Hospitals and other corporate entities acquired 8,100 additional physician practices from 2023 to 2023, a 6% increase.
4. About 80% of physicians who own their practices said the ability to negotiate higher payment rates with insurance companies influenced their decision to sell their practice, according to an American Medical Association report.
5. Rural areas lost nearly 2,500 physicians between 2019 and 2024, representing a 5% loss of all practicing physicians in rural areas, according to another study published by Avalere and the Physicians Advocacy Institute.
6. Additionally, nearly 3,300 rural medical practices closed during this time.
7. The number of rural independent physicians declined by 43% during the study period, from 21,956 in 2019 to 12,467 in 2024.
8. More than 40% of rural independent medical practices closed or were acquired by hospitals, health systems and other corporate entities, including payer-affiliated healthcare groups and private equity.
9. From 2012 to 2022, the share of physicians who were self-employed dropped by 9% –– from 53% to 42%. At the same time, employed physicians grew from just under 42% to almost 50%, according to a 2023 AMA release.
10. In that time frame, the size of private practices grew larger, as the share of physicians who worked in practices with less than 10 physicians dropped nearly 10%, while the share of those working at practices with over 50 physicians grew 6%.
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