The physician marketplace has changed dramatically since 1983, when 41% of physicians were self-employed in solo practice. In 2001, only 23% of all physicians worked on their own, while 39% of physicians were employees and 37% worked in group practices. An important driver for this trend away from solo practice is physicians’ pursuit of market leverage in negotiating payments from managed care plans.

Note: Totals for each year may not sum to 100% because of rounding. 2001 employee figure includes independent contractors.

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation, Trends and Indicators in the Changing Health Care Marketplace, 2002, May 2002, Exhibit 5.9, p. 56, at http://www.kff.org/insurance/3161-index.cfm, updated with 2001 data from the American Medical Association, 2001 Patient Care Physician Survey.