Physicians Industry Profile

Offices in this industry provide general or specialized medical care. No major companies dominate.

More than 6 million physicians are needed to meet goals for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) across the globe, according to a new study from The Lancet.

The US physicians industry includes about 223,000 offices with combined annual revenue of about $475 billion.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Physicians are under pressure from government payers and insurers to lower costs while improving quality of care. The profitability of individual practices depends on the reputation, cost, operational efficiencies, and expertise of the physician and staff. Large practices have advantages in leveraging administrative processes and expensive diagnostic equipment. Small practices compete effectively by providing specialized skills and good customer service. Population growth, injury and illness rates, and demographics play a role in demand for services. Physicians practicing in urban areas generally have several direct competitors in the immediate geographic area, while access to care may be restricted in rural communities.

The US industry is highly fragmented: the top 50 firms account for about 20% of industry revenue. As reimbursements shift toward?pay-for-performance protocols, more physicians are responding by joining group practices or health care networks.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Operations of physician offices revolve around patient care, appointment scheduling, records management, and insurance processing. Typically, a patient makes an appointment several days or weeks before being seen, a medical record file is retrieved, the patient sees the doctor for less than 20 ...