Doctors would you rather work at a HMO or Private Practice?

Question

Why? I personally think working at an HMO would be nice. I'm no doctor though. What is your opinion on this?

Answer 1

I'd rather be in private practice. I actually CARE for my patients.

Answer 2

In private practice you have more freedom to practice the way you want, although there are more and more constraints. If you are in a group, you have to consider your partners. Nevertheless, you have somewhat more control of management issues. But management issues are sometimes a huge headache.

Much of the management in an HMO is done by a professional manager. That relieves you of considerable hassle. But, when he says "jump!", you say "How high?" OK, maybe it's not quite that bad, but management tells you how many patients to see per hour, what hours to work and forget about attending that CME conference at noon on Tuesday, that's prime time to see patients.