Proportion of Family Physicians in Solo and Small Practices is on the Decline

Abstract

Although solo and small practices are a vital part of primary care, the proportion of family physicians reporting working in practices with 5 or fewer providers declined from 15% to 11% for solo and 37% to 34% for small (2 to 5 providers) practices from 2014 to 2018. These decreasing trends are concerning, mainly when a low proportion of family physicians have solo practices in rural locations given the access to care challenges in these underserved populations.

Keywords: Access to Health Care; Child Health; Epidemiologic Studies; Family Medicine; Family Physicians; Primary Health Care; Private Practice; Vulnerable Populations.