The Disadvantages of a Group Medical Practice

As medicine has evolved and expanded in scope, doctors find themselves with more opportunities than ever. Choices include hospitals, clinics, specialty surgery centers, phone consultations, video visits, occupational medicine, research -- and the list goes on. Group practices are those in which multiple physicians create a partnership or corporation. These can range from small two- or three-doctor offices to larger practices of 10 or more. Physicians do not receive pay based on the billing from their individual services. The profits go to the partnership. In some cases, a group practice may employ a doctor who is not part of the ownership. Group practices can range from general medicine to specialties like nephrology, oncology, orthopedics, cardiac and psychiatry.

When considering the type of work and practice, a physician has a lot of angles to examine. While group practices have several liability, organizational, marketing and billing advantages, there are also disadvantages that may cause a physician to make another choice.

Loss Of Autonomy

• Almost by definition, being part of a team or group means giving up some individuality. Group practices tend to have more rules and formats for standardization. Doctors cannot treat in any manner they choose. And because many group practices are HMO affiliated, they may have constraints on how they can spend money, what tests they may run and other issues related to the limitations of HMO insurance.

Ownership Issues

• Many times when a new doctor joins a practice, he works for the partnership or corporation, but isn't necessarily an owner. Becoming a full partner can take time and only occurs when the ownership decides to extend the offer of partnership. Further, governing the practice may be challenging because it often requires physician consensus, which may be hard to attain.

Reputation

• Being part of a group practice is often all for one and one for all. The reputation and practice of other physicians reflect on each individual physician. Therefore, everyone's capabilities and capacities affect everyone else. If one or two doctors do a poor job, it may change the entire practice's reputation.