• Facebook
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
Call us now: (602) 344 9865
Chelle Law
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Practice Areas
    • Professional Licensing Board Defense
    • Medical Contract Attorney
      • Physician Contract Attorney
      • Veterinarian Contract Attorney
      • Dentist Contract Attorney
      • Nurse Practitioner Contract Attorney
      • Physician Assistant Contract Attorney
    • Administrative Appeals and Hearings
      • Arizona Office of Administrative Hearings Attorney
      • Arizona DES Hearing Attorney
      • AHCCCS Fair Hearing Attorney
      • Arizona Registrar of Contractors Attorney
      • Arizona DHS Hearing Attorney
      • Arizona Department of Insurance Hearing Attorney
      • Arizona Child Safety Hearing Attorney
      • Arizona Adult Protective Services Hearing
    • Medical Contract Drafting
    • Fingerprint Card Attorney
      • Arizona Fingerprint Board Attorney
  • Office Locations
    • Chelle Law – Arizona
    • Chelle Law – Indiana
  • Our Attorneys
    • Robert S. Chelle, Esq.
    • Sara Stark, Esq.
    • Renee Osipov, Esq.
    • Erin Howlett, Esq.
    • Charlie Hover, Esq.
  • Contact Us
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

What percentage of physicians are self-employed? Let’s talk about the different types of employment relationships for a physician, and then how many are self-employed. For any physician, you either have an employee, which is a W2 or an independent contractor, and that physician would receive a 1099. Now, if you are an independent contractor, obviously, you are self-employed if you have an LLC, and if you solely work as an independent contractor, whereas if you’re an employee for a hospital network, maybe a larger privately owned physician group, or conglomerate, you are not self-employed. Now, as far as how many or what percentage of physicians are self-employed, let’s talk about the definition of self-employed.

In my mind, self-employed simply means you are a solo practitioner working on your own without any partners or having shareholder percentage. You are a solo practitioner and statistics show that around 14.8% of all physicians currently practicing in the United States are self-employed physicians. It seems like a relatively low percentage, but if you pay attention to the trends in the healthcare industry, there’s been a huge push from these big hospital networks to kind of gobble up all of these physician-owned practices and then integrate them into their systems, so the percentage of self-employed physicians has continued to decrease over time. I believe, at one point, it was between 30% to 40% 20 years ago. And now, it just slowly decreased over time. Is that a bad thing? I don’t think it’s bad or good.

I think the benefits of, if you’re in solo practice to kind of being bought out by a big hospital network are, one, they’re going to drop the bag, so you’re going to get paid, or at least you should get paid a decent amount of money to sell your practice to the hospital network. But I find the practical advantage for most physicians is they no longer must deal with the oversight of the practice. So, all the administrative duties, all the things that are the headaches of being a small business owner, which I am, and what I deal with on a weekly basis, just worrying about payroll and insurance and dealing with the lease and paying the internet and the electricity, just all the small things, the finances with the bookkeeping, all of that is taken away from you if you’re a self-employed physician and then you sell out to a larger group or hospital network.

Many physicians absolutely love not having those responsibilities. The downside is it’s very likely you will make less money as a physician if you are not self-employed. If you’re self-employed, you simply can do things exactly how you want them. They can be more efficient. You can hire as many people as you want to hire and compensate them in the exact way that you want to compensate them. Many self-employed physicians can do very well for themselves. Now, there are also physicians that are just simply not good business, and this would go for any profession. Some people are great at their job, lawyers included, but might not be the best businessperson.

And so, identifying a physician’s strengths and weaknesses, and then determining what type of employment structure best suits them is certainly important. Around 15% of all physicians are currently self-employed. I mean, it seems like it ebbs and flows over time. I remember when I started out of law school around 20 years ago, most of these big hospital networks were kind of buying practices. And then, five years later, they started investing in them. So, I think it ebbs and flows over time. But right now, we’re in a stage where these big hospital networks are gobbling up all these smaller physician-owned practices.

Employment Contract Questions?

Contract Review, Termination Issues, and more!

For More Information >

Contact Us

If you are in need of assistance or would like to hear more about the services we offer contact Chelle Law today!

Links of Interest

  • Home
  • Arizona
    • Administrative Appeals and Hearings
    • Fingerprint Card Attorney
    • Medical Contract Drafting Attorney
    • Professional Licensing Board Defense
  • Indiana Medical Contract Drafting Attorney
  • Medical Employment Contract Attorney (Any State)

Call Us Today!

602.344.9865

Hours/Office

Monday-Friday: 8:00am-5:00pm (MST/MDT)

Chelle Law 5425 E. Bell Rd, Ste 107

Scottsdale, AZ 85254

Contact Us Today!

5425 E. Bell Rd, Ste 107, Scottsdale, AZ 85254

info@chellelaw.com

Practice Areas

  • Professional Licensing Board Defense
  • Medical Contract Lawyer
  • Administrative Appeals & Hearings
  • Medical Contract Drafting
  • Fingerprint Card Attorney

Office Locations

  • Arizona
  • Indiana

Company

  • Robert S. Chelle, Esq. Founder & CEO
  • Sara Stark, Esq. Attorney
  • Renee Osipov, Esq. Attorney
  • Erin Howlett, Esq. Attorney
  • Charlie Hover, Esq. Attorney

Resources

  • Blog
  • Contact Us

Follow Us

© 2022 Chelle Law. All rights reserved.  Disclaimer & Terms of Use.  Privacy Policy.

Scroll to top

How Much PTO Should a Physician Get Download



How Much PTO Should a Physician Get?

4 Factors to Consider with PTO

How Much Does Tail Insurance Cost Download

How Much Does Tail Insurance Cost for a Physician?

4 Key Aspects of Tail Insurance for Physicians

Physician Contract Review Checklist

Where Should We Send the Physician Contract Checklist?

28 Essential Physician Contract Terms to Put You in a Positive Financial Situation for Years to Come.