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Why More Physicians Are Reevaluating the Traditional Practice Model

The Landscape Has Already Shifted

The structure of American medicine has changed significantly over the past decade. According to the AMA's 2024 Physician Practice Benchmark Survey, the share of physicians working in wholly physician-owned private practices has dropped from 60.1% in 2012 to just 42.2% in 2024.[1] Hospital-owned practices, meanwhile, have grown from 23.4% to 34.5% over the same period.[1]

A separate analysis by the Physician Advocacy Institute found that physicians employed by hospitals or other corporate entities now represent 77.6% of the physician workforce — up from 62.2% in 2019.[2]

For many physicians, these arrangements came with real benefits: stability, infrastructure, and relief from the financial complexity of running a practice. For some, that remains the right fit. For others, questions about long-term sustainability, clinical autonomy, and the quality of patient relationships have become harder to set aside.

What Physicians in Large Practice Settings Are Experiencing

Across a range of practice settings, physicians are navigating a familiar combination of pressures: high patient volumes, growing administrative responsibilities, documentation demands, and patient expectations around communication and continuity that are increasingly difficult to meet.

The AMA survey identified the three most commonly cited reasons physicians have moved away from independent practice: difficulty negotiating payment rates with payers, the cost of managing payers' regulatory and administrative requirements, and limited access to costly resources.[1] These are not new pressures — they are longstanding structural issues that have compounded over time.

The result is a workforce under strain. Recent research found that 44% of family physicians[3] and 61% of internal medicine physicians[4] report experiencing burnout. And of those, 39% say they may leave medicine altogether.[3]

For many physicians, the deeper issue isn’t workload alone — it’s the growing distance between how they want to practice and what their current schedule actually allows.

Time scarcity is the thread that connects most of what physicians describe as unsatisfying about the current model. According to a 2025 Ipsos/MDVIP survey of traditional primary care physicians, 81% say they do not have enough time with patients, time to think, or time to prevent disease rather than react to it.[5]

The consequences are clinical as well as professional. The same survey found that 57% of primary care physicians say they often prescribe medications or refer patients to specialists sooner than they would like — simply because there is no time to go deeper.[5] Care becomes transactional rather than relational, which frustrates physicians and patients alike.

This is what many physicians describe when they talk about the distance between why they entered medicine and what they find themselves doing day to day.

The Questions Physicians Are Beginning to Ask

As these pressures accumulate, more physicians are beginning to ask questions that reflect a deeper professional reckoning:

  • Is this model sustainable long-term?
  • Am I practicing medicine the way I intended to?
  • Is there a different way to care for patients within today’s healthcare environment?

For some physicians, this exploration leads them to learn more about personalized care models. And one of the most common things they discover early is that these models are available to physicians regardless of whether they currently own a practice.

What a Different Model Can Make Possible

The MDVIP model is not simply about a smaller patient panel. For many physicians, it creates a fundamentally different practice environment — one built around the conditions that make medicine meaningful: more time with each patient, stronger continuity of care, a deeper focus on preventive care, operational and administrative support, and a workday that ends at a reasonable hour.

The outcomes reflect this shift. Data from more than 11 peer-reviewed studies show a 70% reduction in hospitalizations among patients in MDVIP-affiliated practices, and MDVIP's annual Wellness Program helps identify 40% more cardiovascular risk than standard checkups.[6]

The physician shortage adds urgency to these questions. The Association of American Medical Colleges projects a shortage of up to 86,000 primary care physicians by 2036.[7] Sustainable practice models aren't just a personal question for physicians; they're a structural necessity for the healthcare system as a whole.

Where Most Physicians Start

For physicians evaluating their future, most begin with education — understanding how the healthcare landscape is evolving and learning what alternatives may exist for physicians seeking a different practice experience.

The conversation doesn’t have to start with a decision. For most physicians who ultimately affiliate with MDVIP, it starts with a question: what would it actually look like to practice medicine differently?

If you’re asking that question, you’re not alone, and the answer may be more accessible than you think.

References

[1]  Kane CK. Physician Practice Characteristics in 2024. AMA Policy Research Perspectives. May 2025. https://www.ama-assn.org/about/ama-research/physician-practice-benchmark-survey

[2]  Physician Advocacy Institute. Physician Employment and Acquisition Trends 2019–2024.

[3]  Turnover and Burnout Among Family Physicians. JAMA Internal Medicine, March 2025.

[4]  Factors Associated with Well-Being and Burnout Among US Internal Medicine Physicians. BMJ Quality & Safety, September 2025.

[5]  Ipsos/MDVIP Physician Survey, January 2025.

[6]  MDVIP internal data, based on analysis of 11+ peer-reviewed studies.

[7]  Association of American Medical Colleges. The Complexities of Physician Supply and Demand: Projections From 2021 to 2036. https://www.aamc.org/news/press-releases/new-aamc-report-shows-continuing-projected-physician-shortage