<p>I have read that PP is any position in which you are not employed by the government (teaching, researching, etc.). I have also heard that doctors who work in hospitals would not be considered private practice, and that PP work elsewhere. Which is correct, or are both?</p>
<p>Private practice is an imprecise term. Private practice most often indicates “not academic” practice, but it also can mean “not VA/county/state practice” (although private practice can occur at those sites). </p>
<p>Private practice generally refers to physicians who practice clinical, as opposed to research, medicine and who are not directly compensated by a government facility. Doctors working at hospitals could be in private practice or not.</p>
<p>Double-penny is, of course, correct. But just to clarify: both argument you described are wrong.</p>
<p>So PP is any doctor not receiving government money, which does include many hospital doctors?</p>
<p>Non-private practice refers to physicians who are employees of another group. The most common example are physicians who work for universities, the military, or Kaiser Permanente.</p>
<p>No direct link to whether or not they work in a hospital.</p>
<p>PP physicians still receive money from the government through Medicare, Medicaid, etc. I think of being part of a PP as being a part of a business, where you are an employer. You usually earn more in PP compared to what you would earn working for Kaiser, where your income is salaried. PP physicians can work in the hospital too, such as the case when a surgeon performing an operation in a hospital setting.</p>
<p>If you work in PP, you would have to deal with the logistics of running a business (e.g., hiring employees, leasing an office, and other overhead costs).</p>
<p>Doctors in private practice have “privileges” at different hospitals. That means they are allowed to admit and treat patients at that facility. The private practice doctor bills the patient for his part, the hospital bills for their part, labs bill for their part, other consulting doctors bill for their part. Very confusing for patients. Places like Kaiser usually only have their own Kaiser employed doctors working at their hospitals and billing is more centralized.</p>
<p>To me, the essence of private practice should be that you are your own boss. You make your own decisions about how you will practice (for example you don’t HAVE to accept Medicare, or any other insurance for that matter), and accept that this means no guaranteed “salary” (and certainly not always more than being employed, especially if you count benefits). In my mind it is first, and foremost a business, although a unique one. To me, this means working for a hospital or large group, where they limit your decision making in exchange for a gaurenteed income, does not count.</p>
<p>See [Careers</a> in Medicine: Private Practice (Next Generation)](<a href=“http://www.nextgenmd.org/vol2-5/private_practice.html]Careers”>http://www.nextgenmd.org/vol2-5/private_practice.html)</p>