Two physician-owned hospitals have announced plans to close campuses or end services in the last few months, citing labor costs, inflation and case volume declines. 

Revenue and expense data from the last year could point to a need for to reconsider the traditional physician employment model, according to Kaufman Hall's "Physician Flash Report for 2023"

Chris Roy, business development executive at Hutchinson, Kan.-based The Summit, joined Becker's to discuss the payer behavior challenging his physician-owned surgical hospital. 

Here are five key notes on the state of physician-owned hospitals:

As healthcare consolidates, it is becoming increasingly difficult for some physicians to maintain ownership of facilities and access economies of scale. 

Medical group revenue per physician jumped 16.7% in 2023 but expenses are also on the rise, according to the AMGA Medical Group Operations and Finance Survey.

Hospitals nationwide have begun to cut service lines in an effort to save money or address staffing concerns. This phenomenon opens the door for independent practices to show why they too are a necessity in their communities.

As inflation has soared and accessing economies of scale becomes more difficult, physicians are flocking to employed models. 

In a world where it is becoming increasingly difficult to practice privately, physicians still choose to continue down the path they believe is best for them. 

Private practices continue to battle a host of challenges, including economic pressures and reimbursement woes. But how will it affect their future?

Physician-owned hospitals saved $1.1 billion in 2019 when compared to the cost of care at traditional facilities over the same period, according to research commissioned by the Physician’s Advocacy Institute and the Physicians Foundation.

The American Medical Association recently published an appendix to its "AMA STEPS Forward Private Practice Playbook" that includes business and medical forms physicians can use in their private practice.

Independent practices experienced a smaller drop in patient volume than larger health systems at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent study published in the JAMA Health Forum.

Here are five forces impacting the private practice space to know:

Here are seven statistics and stories on private practices physicians should know that Becker's has reported on so far in 2023:

Here are three healthcare updates that private practice physicians should be aware of:

Six physicians recently joined Becker's to discuss the relationship between physicians and the hospitals they work for. 

The share of physicians in private practice has decreased from 60.1% in 2012 to 46.7% in 2022, with practice acquisition serving as one of the driving factors for this decline over the last decade.

Terry Lichtor, MD, PhD, a neurosurgeon and professor at Rush Medical Center in Chicago, joined Becker's to discuss the relationship between physicians and the hospitals they work for. 

Three physician groups left Seattle-based Proliance Surgeons network in July, the group confirmed to Becker's.