Doctor-Hiring Rush is On

In the years to come, experts may look back on healthcare reform as the time that not only made improvements in the quality of patient care and sparked efforts to reduce costs, but also when doctors traded their independent practices for hospital employment. There's been a marked uptick in the pace with which physicians are being employed by hospitals; in fact, employment of physicians and surgeons is expected to grow by 24% from 2010 to 2020, nearly twice the rate of growth for all other occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"[Organizations] have to grab the opportunities when they occur. I'm not referring to buying practices; I'm just referring to employing physicians," said Robert Shapiro, CPA, senior vice president and CFO for North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System in Great Neck, N.Y. The system employs 2,600 physicians in a teaching environment, and one-third of those were hired in the past 18 months. Shapiro was one of 30 healthcare finance leaders to attend the 2012 HealthLeaders Media CFO Exchange and offer his thoughts on a variety of topics, including
physician employment.

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