The Changing Private Practice Environment:

The physician private practice arena has evolved from the days of the single family practitioner delivering house calls to one where options such as an affiliation of independent practitioners to purchase supplies or the integration of multi-specialty medical groups and hospitals into regional health systems are available. The transition to these sophisticated systems for the delivery of medical care has been stimulated by myriad changes in all segments of the health care industry; the payment system has become more complex, demands of all consumers have risen, and the ability to survive financially has become more of a challenge.