Dont Be Afraid To Start A Solo Practice

Despite what you read and hear, solo private practice is not dead. Very few private practices fail. If you are a medical student, a medical resident or a dissatisfied physician practicing in a large group practice, go out on your own. You can still hang your shingle and do well.

It is true that the proportion of physicians in solo or two physician practices fell from 40% in 1996 to 32% in 2004. Certain specialties are more amenable than others. Obviously, radiology and anesthesiology would not be appropriate but primary care, pediatrics, dermatology, family medicine, ophthalmology, plastic surgery, rheumatology, Infectious diseases, gI, neurology, surgery, vascular surgery, hematology oncology, and geriatrics to name a few, can all be done, if you understand how to do it. Nowadays, small groups and solo practitioners adapt to a changing environment. They use hospitalists to provide on call hospital coverage, they use purchasing groups to get the best prices on equipment and inventory, they understand how to negotiate insurance contracts, and , best of all, as private practitioners in solo or small group practices, they are their own boss and make more money than their large group counter parts.

For 25 years I have heard naysayers herald the apocalypse of medicine. It is far from true. When I went into private practice, HMO's were going to take over medicine and "physician networks" were going to exclude doctors from seeing patients in certain geographic areas. Nope. Didn't happen. So don't worry. Don't be afraid to take the step into opening your own practice. You won't regret it. Just be prepared.