Physicians who once worked in a physician-owned practice before their current job are significantly more likely than their peers to be heading for the exit, according to the 2026 PAI Employed Physician Survey.
Among physicians with prior experience in a physician-owned setting, 35% cite a lack of clinical autonomy as a reason they’re considering a new job, compared with 21% of physicians who’ve never practiced outside a corporate structure. They’re also more likely to say they plan to leave clinical practice entirely before retiring — 20% versus 12%.
That group also reports operating under tighter terms: 63% are bound by a non-compete agreement, versus 48% of physicians without prior independent-practice experience, and 53% have patient-volume targets built into their compensation, versus 41%.
Only 28% of the 1,003 physicians surveyed have ever practiced in a physician-owned setting at all, a share that falls to roughly one in eight among physicians under 40 — a reflection of how thoroughly corporate ownership has replaced the traditional practice model. In 2012, just one in four physicians was employed; today more than four in five are. Among physicians who left physician-owned practice, the top draws to corporate employment were better work-life balance (59%), higher compensation (52%), rising overhead costs (51%) and administrative burden (49%).
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