The proportion of physicians in solo and two-physician practices has decreased over the last decade, according to a new national study, Physicians Moving to Mid-Sized, Single-Specialty Practices, released by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC).
According to the HSC, a nonpartisan policy research organization based in Washington, key findings of the study, conducted from 1996-97 to 2004-05, include:
· The proportion of physicians in solo and two-physician practices decreased from 40.7 percent to 32.5 percent.
· The proportion of medical specialists in solo or two-physician practices declined from 38.1 percent to 26.1 percent.
· While younger physicians were more likely than older physicians to practice in larger groups and to be non-owners, the gap has narrowed.
· Despite the shift away from the smallest practices, physicians are not moving to multispecialty practices.
· Physicians increasingly are practicing in mid-sized, single-specialty groups of six to 50 physicians.
