More and More Doctors Abandoning Private Practice By Kerry Dooley Young May 27, 2021 -- Fewer doctors are opting to run their own small private practices, with more seeking jobs in hospitals or larger medical groups, according to a new report. These patterns likely reflect broader trends toward consolidation in health care, with both insurance companies and hospitals also having grown in size in recent years. The latest biennial analysis of doctors’ practices by the American Medical Association showed an acceleration of a trend away from private practice, defined as a practice wholly owned by physicians. The 2020 results found less than half -- 49.1 % -- of doctors involved in patient care worked in a private practice, the AMA said in a report released this month.