Medical groups are often able to recruit new physicians more easily because they offer an improved life style compared with that of solo practice, which allows them to grow along with a managed care plan. On the whole, medical groups are in a superior position to benefit from managed care compared with many other models, and certainly compared with independent private physicians. Disadvantages of Medical Groups Medical groups can certainly have serious problems, such as uncontrolled overhead or poor utilization patterns. If these problems are not rectified, the impact of failure is felt to a far higher degree than is the case if a single physician or small group fails. If the group has markedly disproportionate compensation or life style differences between the senior members and the new physicians, the turnover of new members can be unacceptably high.
Medical groups can also inflate their own opinions of their worth, impeding effective contracting.
Medical groups can become calcified in their ways and be less able to change than individual physicians. If the group is unwilling to consider redistributing the rewards to the PCPs, it may suffer defections of those physicians, which will make the group less desirable from a managed care standpoint.