Marcus Welby, MD, was a fictitious hometown doctor featured in a TV drama with the same name that was shown on ABC from 1969 to 1976. Played by actor Robert Young, Welby treated his patients through their bouts with breast cancer, impotence, and Alzheimer's disease.
Welby likely wouldn't recognize the practice of medicine today, where nearly three quarters (73.9%) of physicians are employed by hospitals, health systems, or corporate entities, according to a recent report sponsored by the Physicians Advocacy Institute and prepared by consulting firm Avalere Health.
"COVID-19 drove physicians to leave private practice for employment at an even more rapid pace than we've seen in recent years, and these trends continued to accelerate in 2021," said Kelly Kenney, chief executive officer of Physicians Advocacy Institute, in an announcement. "This study underscores the fact that physicians across the nation are facing severe burnout and strain. The pressures of the pandemic forced many independent physicians to make difficult decisions to sell their practices, health insurers, or other corporate entities."
Corporate entities are defined in the report as health insurers, private equity firms, and umbrella corporate entities that own multiple physician practices.
"The pandemic has been just brutal...for nurses and physicians who are caring for patients," Kenney told
