Rural areas of Tennessee lost hundreds of independent physicians between 2019 and 2024, according to a recent report by the Physicians Advocacy Institute.
During that period, rural Tennessee lost 362 independent physicians and 344 independent medical practices. According to a June 5 report by the Tennessee Lookout, some of those physicians stopped practicing in rural areas, while others became employees of larger health systems.
This falls in line with national trends that point to an increasingly consolidated physician workforce. According to a recent survey by the American Medical Association, 42.2% of physicians worked in private practice in 2024, compared with 60.1% in 2012.
The number of hospital-employed physicians rose by 33% between 2013 and 2022 from around 157,000 to more than 205,000. In contrast, private practices grew by 17%, indicating hospitals are hiring at roughly double the rate, according to a report published May 13 in the Journal of the Society of Laparoscopic and Robotic Surgeons.
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