Consumer Attitude Toward Physician Practice Ownership: Propositions for Future Research

Employed physicians now outnumber self-employed doctors, with approximately one-third of all U.S. physicians working for a hospital-owned or hospital-affiliated practice and many others employed at larger practices with 11 or more physicians. Consequently, the number of physicians working in small independent practices (those with 10 or fewer physicians) has dropped to nearly 15%. Management literature suggests that ownership of a firm can affect consumer attitudes. Specific to health care, significant research attention has been given to the implications of practice ownership from an operational, managerial, outcomes, and human resources perspective. However, little can be found to address the implications of practice ownership on health care consumers. Several research propositions are offered here to advance research in this area and address the research question: How does practice ownership affect health care consumer attitudes?