Author: Patsy Newitt

Around 77% of physicians have shifted away from independent practice and into employed models over the last decade, but some are unhappy with employment and are pivoting back to private practice. 

ASCs continue to grapple with the anesthesia provider shortage as demand for outpatient surgeries grows. 

Hurricane Helene damaged a Baxter plant in Marion, N.C., that makes 60% of the nation's IV fluid products, in September, and hospitals are struggling amid the shortages. 

Walgreens will close 1,200 locations over the next three years, the company said in its Oct. 15 fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report. 

UnitedHealth Group's Optum earned $63.9 billion in total revenue in the third quarter of 2024 — an increase of 11.7% year over year, according to the company's financial report. 

Here are five gastroenterologists making headlines in the last month, as reported by Becker's:

A California bill will go into effect Oct. 16 requiring healthcare facilities, including ASCs, to meet certain wage requirements, law firm Buchalter wrote in JDSupra. 

Physician practice ownership has been declining for decades. In 2022, just 44% of physicians owned their practices, compared with 76% in the early 1980s, according to a report from the American Medical Association.

Gastroenterologists across the U.S. are voicing concerns about three key policies affecting patient care, screening accuracy and physician reimbursements. 

In a new survey, Medscape laid out how much self-employed and employed physicians are paying for malpractice premiums annually and how they feel about it.