posted by Savanah on Feb 19
When you need to visit a physician, you take several things into account. The most important is usually whether they are covered by your insurance plan. Other factors may include the their proximity to you, the doctor’s educational background, gender, languages spoken, and, of course, their specialty area. The fact that most insurance companies let you search by these factors is a good indication of their importance to health care consumers.
Another factor that is important to many people is whether the physician is in private practice or is part of a public clinic. While there is a perception that seeing a doctor in private practice is somehow better, the quality of care is going to be determined by a wide range of factors. The main difference between private practices and public clinics isn’t care, but the way in which the practice is organized with regards to finances.
Most private medical practices are a partnership between two or more doctors. As with a law firm or other professional partnership, the partner doctors share all financial responsibilities and make the decisions necessary to run the practice effectively. Each partner receives a share of the profits based on the schedule agreed upon in the governing agreement. By pooling resources into a group practice, doctors are able to afford the investment needed to open and maintain a practice that would cost prohibitive to a solo physician. This includes things like medical equipment financing , liability insurance, and providing salaries and benefits for support staff.
