Here are the 10 physician leadership stories published by Becker’s that drew the most clicks this year:
1. The medical school trends scaring physicians: Ten physician leaders joined Becker’s to discuss the medical school trends they found most concerning. Concerns ranged from the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion provisions, the emergence of AI and other cutting edge technologies, the rise of three-year training programs and a lack of training surrounding payer negotiations.
2. The 5 richest physicians of 2024: At the stroke of midnight on Jan. 1, Forbes updated its annual list of the richest people in the world, which includes 34 U.S. healthcare billionaires in 2024 and five individuals who hold medical degrees.
3. The Stark law loophole threatening patient care: According to an April study by the Neiman Healthy Policy Institute, office-based physicians are interpreting hundreds of thousands of medical images they ordered themselves each year, rather than sending them to trained radiologists.
4. The richest physician billionaires in 2025: Forbes released its annual World’s Billionaires list on April 1, highlighting the globe’s wealthiest individuals, including nine physicians.
5. The physician ownership revolution: While physician ownership has been on a steady decline over the last decade, a new wave of physicians may be returning to independence—in part thanks to the emergence of new hybrid ownership models and management services organizations that support independent practice and physician autonomy.
6. Physicians allege RWJBarnabas monopolized care: A physician group and physician filed a lawsuit in October alleging that West Orange, N.J.-based RWJBarnabas Health enacted anti-competitive policies that effectively bar independent physicians from treating their own patients at RWJB hospitals.
7. Private practice still dominates as employment grows: Report: While private practice has been regarded as in decline overall, a report published in May in the Journal of the Society of Laparoscopic and Robotic Surgeons suggests the private practice model still dominates physician employment — though shifts in the landscape are evident.
8. Is medical school missing the mark? What physicians would change: Nine physicians joined Becker’s to discuss gaps that they see in medical school training, ranging from education about artificial intelligence to business and practice management skills.
9. The biggest misconceptions about being a physician: Two physicians joined Becker’s to share what they see as the biggest public misconceptions about their profession. Responses included opacity surrounding physicians’ diagnosis processes to their perceived work-life balance.
10. The physician ownership shift: 10 new stats on the move to employment: According to a report published by the American Medical Association in May, physicians are continuing a shift away from private practice and towards hospital or private equity-owned settings.
