Various healthcare players fight to employ doctors
The background
There has long been a trend of physicians no longer working in their own practices. Since the start of the Corona pandemic, they've also been fleeing exhausting working conditions in hospitals.
In most countries, fewer and fewer physicians are working in their own practices. In the U.S., 2020 was the first year where less than half (49.1%) of patient care physicians worked in a private practice—an 11% drop from 2012. This trend has also been observed in Germany for several years. Between 2021 and 2018, the share of employed primary care physicians increased from 6% to 15%.
The corona impact
Since the onset of the pandemic, doctors and other healthcare workers have also been fleeing hospitals. According to a survey conducted by Morning Consult, nearly one in five healthcare workers has quit their job during the pandemic.
The Atlantic published an impressive feature on doctors and healthcare workers who have surrendered to the extremely tough working conditions in the healthcare system.
The observation
Various healthcare players are fighting for these frustrated doctors, as they see them as a gateway to patients and revenue. Players include insurance companies, pharmacies, and VC-funded digital health entities.
- In the U.S. in particular, insurers are buying up clinics and physician practices in order to gain access to a larger share of value-added.
- Pharmacies such as CVS, Walgreens Boots Alliance, and new online-first pharmacies are buying primary care players and recruiting physicians to gain direct access to customers. They are less interested in primary care sales and more interested in the drug sales that follow the doctor’s visit.
- In addition, there are a number of digital health players such as telemedicine companies that have enough venture capital in their war chests to recruit physicians.
Why it matters for MedTech companies
Most of the medical technology companies have been selling to independent practices and clinics. Now they have to adapt to new customer groups, mostly larger organizations with greater purchasing power than independent physicians.