Do Doctors Make More in Private Practice Compared to Health Systems?

Naturally, the answer depends on quite a few factors, but on average, as compiled by data from Medical Economics and Wolters Kluwer, doctors working for private practice earn approximately 10% more than healthcare providers working in larger health systems. This is due to several factors: with more autonomy, doctors can have more ownership equity, the ability to set their own fees, and a higher share of generated revenue. 

Beyond the base salary, private practice offers additional financial benefits. These include profit-sharing, practice equity, and more direct control over overhead costs. We’ll dive into how this maps out, but first, it’s important to note that understanding where and how doctors can maximize their earnings is vital when opening a private medical office. 

For example, if you’re looking to open a private office in the Houston area, MedCoShare just opened a new location in Pearland, offering flexible leases that allow you to get started on your way. With our newest medical office spaces for rent, practice part-time to start or sign onto a non-restrictive lease full-time. We save independent healthcare providers an average of 56% on annual rent with medical coworking. 

Benefits of Private Practice

Before diving deeper into the benefits of private practice, let’s understand what doctors’ main gripes working in a healthcare system are. According to Medical Professionals Reference, the main reasons physicians face burnout in larger health systems include: 

1. A lack of autonomy in their medical care
2. Hindrances to providing high quality care like bureaucratic leadership and having to cater to insurance companies
3. More time spent on administrative documentation work rather than actual clinical care 

Here’s how the private practice approach can address these issues: 

1. Working in independent healthcare directly addresses the above concerns, as a whopping 64% of private medical providers note that increased autonomy is what they like most about private practice (MDLINX MedScape). Increased autonomy can also lead to better patient outcomes: as noted by KevinMD, in a study by the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, results showed that patients of independent healthcare providers had far fewer preventable hospitalizations and hospital visits. 

2. Further, with newer models of primary care like the direct care payment model, doctors can completely  bypass dealing with insurance companies and focus more on patient care. As found from a Software Advice survey, nearly 8 out of every 10 patients, when prompted why they preferred independent healthcare providers over health systems, said they prefer the more personal relationship they have with their doctor. Thus, we can see how when doctors are given more freedom, patients feel better too, with 60% saying they trust their doctors more and 57% noting they feel the quality of care is better. 

3. Working in an independent healthcare office allows doctors much more autonomy of hiring and procedural matters; when working in a medical coworking space like MedCoShare, we take care of hiring for you as well–offering MAs, billing, scheduling staff and partnerships with easy EHR systems. Not only do we handle the administrative side of the business, but we can take the digital marketing off your hands too. We have in-house digital marketing services that provide search engine optimization, website development and design, content creation like blogs and short/ long-form video production, social media management, and more. Learn more about all our comprehensive services by visiting our MCS Services Division page. 

Conclusion 

Ultimately, the choice between private practice and health systems depends on individual preferences and career goals. Private practice offers higher earning potential and autonomy, while health systems can provide stability and benefits.Whether seeking higher earnings through private practice or valuing the stability and benefits of health systems, each path has its unique advantages.

If you are choosing to open a private medical office, consider the newer, innovative paths to getting started–as these can ease a majority, if not all, of the initial hurdles to switching to independent healthcare. One of these more innovative approaches to private medical care is through medical coworking; you can read more about the benefits of medical coworking in our blogpost here. Coworking allows private doctors an incredibly amount of flexibility with their working hours, and also, we provide various support services like medical assistants and billing staff to digital marketing including search engine optimization and content creation. 

Medical coworking companies like MedCoShare become a one-stop shop for doctors looking to open a private practice. As the largest medical coworking company in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, we have just expanded to Houston, Texas and have modern, fully furnished office spaces for rent. So, if you’re looking for a medical space for lease in Houston, Texas, do check us out here. We’re currently offering 50% off rent when you sign up for a 4 month lease. 

Sources: 

• https://medcoshare.com/2024/02/19/benefits-of-a-medical-coworking-space/
• https://www.medicaleconomics.com/view/want-more-pay-work-for-a-private-practice
• https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/expert-insights/working-at-a-hospital-vs-private-practice-whats-right-for-you#:~:text=all%20the%20logistics.-,Salary%20needs,nonprofit%20hospitals%20earn%20roughly%20%24228%2C000.
• https://www.kevinmd.com/2024/02/why-private-practice-doctors-are-vital.html#:~:text=Studies%20have%20consistently%20shown%20that,larger%2C%20hospital%2Downed%20practices.
• https://www.mdlinx.com/article/will-self-employment-really-give-you-the-autonomy-you-crave/JYgNXVFLccbIFfOkWiDlE
• https://www.softwareadvice.com/resources/independent-corporate-healthcare/

Date: June 7, 2024

Categorised in: Uncategorized