Why Practices Join Hospital Systems

Interviews with hospital leaders and employed physicians highlighted financial pressures, perceived care-integration benefits, and unresolved operational tensions following acquisition.

By
Kathryn Wighton
June 12, 2026
7 min

Conexiant

Objective:

To explore the motivations and implications of physician practices being acquired by hospital systems.

Approach:

Key Findings:

Acquisitions were often initiated by physicians due to financial viability concerns.
Over 50% of active physicians worked for hospital systems as of 2024, up from 20% in 2010.
Hospital leaders reported that acquisitions were seldom central to strategic planning and often opportunistic.
Acquisitions could improve care access and continuity through shared electronic health records.
Operational tensions and disagreements over compensation and staffing were common post-acquisition.

Interpretation:

Limitations:

The study captured stakeholder perceptions rather than measured patient outcomes.
Most system leaders reported no attempts to measure a practice’s baseline quality or evaluate performance post-acquisition.
The purposive sampling may limit the range of perspectives captured.