The Antidote to Corporatization of Medicine: Reflections on Medscape’s 2025 Self-Employed Physicians Report

Last month, I sat down to review the final draft of Medscape’s 2025 Self-Employed Physicians Report, in which I served as the featured expert commentator. As I flipped through the data, charts, and testimonies, it struck me how familiar it all felt, because I had lived so much of it personally and have spent years now helping thousands of physicians navigate the same terrain.

The faces behind the statistics could easily be the physicians I mentor each week. Like the hospital-employed internist who once whispered to me after a conference session, “I just want my career back.” Or the surgeon who told me, “I feel owned.” Or the young pediatrician who confessed, “I didn’t go to medical school to become a cog in a productivity machine.”

Medscape’s findings simply validated what independent-minded physicians have been feeling for years: Self-employment is no longer a fringe career path. It is the antidote to corporatization.

And physicians know it.

Below is my deeper reflection on the report’s key findings. why they matter, how they align with the movement PEA-SimpliMD have been building, and what this means for physicians seeking autonomy, agency, and a future that feels like their own.

The Power of Autonomy: Why It Still Reigns Supreme

On page 2, Medscape reports that 68% of self-employed physicians identified autonomy as the No. 1 benefit of self-employment. This aligns almost exactly with the 2022 report and confirms an unshakable truth: physicians value professional agency above everything else.

In my commentary for the report (p. 3), I emphasized:

“Self-employed doctors often by nature value that autonomy. I get to decide when, where, and how I work... At the end of the day, self-employment is really the antidote to corporatization of medicine.”

This isn’t just theoretical. It is lived reality.

In my coaching groups, autonomy consistently emerges as the hinge on which satisfaction swings, not income, not call schedules, not even specialty. When physicians regain the ability to design their work, everything changes.

For those wanting a deeper dive on this concept, read my eBook: ➡️ “The Entrepreneur Physician’s ESCAPE from Corporate Medicine”

The Darker Side: Income Uncertainty & Administrative Burden

On page 4, the leading “worst thing” about self-employment was income uncertainty (38%), followed by running a business (26%).

This finding has grown since 2022, and it reflects the very real pressures created by rising overhead, payer unpredictability, and malpractice inflation. As I noted in the report (p. 5):

“Private practice doctors face rising inflation, increased operating costs... and payer unpredictability. Those are variables the physician running a business can’t fully control.”

However, this pain point is exactly why the micro-corporation model, a lean, low-overhead professional entity, is becoming the preferred path among today’s self-employed physicians. It removes most of the cost burdens tethered to traditional practice ownership.

For a practical introduction, see: ➡️ “What Is a Micro-Corporation—and Is It the Same as a Micro-Practice?” (The Independent Physician Blog)

Work-Life Balance: The “Ownership Stress” Paradox

One of the most compelling visuals in the report appears on page 11, where 55% of self-employed physicians say they have better work-life balance than employed peers.

This seems counterintuitive: more responsibility but better balance?

But as I explained in the report:

“Your self-employed doctors may work just as many hours, but they’re the ones deciding what happens with those hours... I call it ‘ownership stress,’ which doesn’t carry the resentment of being an employee.”

This is a nuance many miss. Stress without autonomy feels suffocating; stress with autonomy feels purposeful.

Physicians don’t burn out because they work hard, they burn out because they lack control.

Predictable Hours & Limited Call: A Hidden Advantage

On page 12, 83% of self-employed physicians report having predictable hours, and an astonishing 41% take zero overnight call per month.

This overturns the myth that self-employment means chaos.

Lean corporate structures, micro-corporations, locums entities, consulting-based models, often create more lifestyle flexibility than employed roles.

This is why so many physicians are shifting into:

• Contracted clinical roles

• Direct care models

• Specialty “boutique” micro-practices

• Part-time consulting or expert witness work

• Locums-based professional corporations

Inside PEA, these shifts are becoming standard, because they give physicians back something priceless: control of their calendar.

Financial Health & Stability: More Positive Than Expected

Even with the challenges, 8 in 10 self-employed physicians say their practice is financially healthy (page 12). And 70% of employed physicians say the same about their jobs.

This proximity is revealing:

Self-employment is no longer “less stable” than employed medicine.

In fact, in a healthcare landscape rife with mergers, layoffs, contract restructuring, and RVU manipulations, it may be more stable long-term.

The Rise of the Physician Micro-Corporation

Slide 14 (page 17) highlights how physicians structure their practices:

• 26% LLC

• 23% S Corporation

• 14% Sole proprietorship

• 13% Professional corporation

And as I stated in the report:

“I expect to see more physicians run their business as a ‘micro corporation’ organized as a PLLC or PC taxed as an S corp.”

Why?

Because it allows physicians to:

• Operate lean

• Stay agile

• Reduce administrative burden

• Lower financial risk

• Gain full professional agency

• Build multiple revenue streams

The micro-corporation is the future of physician work, and the foundation of every PEA curriculum.

If you're ready to build yours: ➡️ Creating a Practice Without Walls Course for only $199

The Ten-Year Horizon: More Physicians Planning to Stay Independent

One of the most hopeful findings in the report appears on page 10:

41% of self-employed physicians now plan to remain independent for at least 10 more years, up from 31% in 2022.

This signals a turning tide.

Physicians are no longer fleeing to employment for safety, they are choosing independence for stability, purpose, and professional dignity.

This aligns with the cultural shift I’m seeing across the country:

Physicians want to practice medicine, not corporate medicine.

Why This Report Matters for the Physician Entrepreneur Movement

Medscape’s 2025 report is not just a survey. It is a cultural checkpoint.

It shows:

• Physicians hunger for autonomy

• The micro-business model is rising

• Self-employment offers lifestyle advantages

• Financial viability is strong

• Administrative burdens must be addressed

• Physicians are staying independent longer

• Innovation thrives outside corporatization

And it validates what we teach every day at PEA:

A physician who owns their work is a physician who thrives.

Free Download: Medscape’s Full 2025 Self-Employed Physicians Report

You can download the full report here: ➡️ “The Antidote to Corporatization of Medicine”: Medscape Self-Employed Physicians Report 2025

If This Report Resonated With You… Here Are Your Next Steps

1. Read These Related 3-5 minute eBooks from PEA

• Why Every Physician Should Start a Micro-Corporation

• What Do Dentists Know That Doctor’s Don’t?

• Business Mindset Shift for Doctors

2. Download My Free E-Book

➡️ 10 Steps to Micro-Business Formation

3. Join the Physician Entrepreneur Academy

If you're ready to build your autonomy, income streams, and business competency: ➡️ Explore the PEA Membership

Final Word

Serving as the expert commentator for this report was an honor, but more importantly, it reaffirmed the mission we share:

To equip physicians everywhere to reclaim their agency, build entrepreneurial confidence, and design careers worthy of the calling of medicine.

The future belongs to the independent physician. And together, we are building that future—one micro-corporation at a time.