As more physicians join health systems or private equity-backed groups, these 10 physician leaders are keeping their practices in physicians’ hands. Some run groups of 100-plus physicians; others run small practices they founded themselves. Together they span nine specialties, from Portland, Ore., to Long Island, N.Y.
Note: Leaders are listed alphabetically. This list is not an endorsement of included individuals, organizations or their associated products.
1. David Eagle, MD. President of the American Independent Medical Practice Association. Dr. Eagle, an oncologist with New York Cancer and Blood, one of the founding practices in OneOncology’s network, leads a national association of independent physicians. AIMPA’s 2026 priorities include educating policymakers on the management services organization model, the physician fee schedule and site-neutral payments.
2. Colin Edgerton, MD. Managing partner of Charleston, S.C.-based Articularis Healthcare Group. Dr. Edgerton, a rheumatologist, helped build what the group calls the largest rheumatology private practice in the U.S., with 18 practices in nine states as of July 2025, without outside investors. “We don’t accept external investment — we’re not PE or venture capital supported — and we’re committed to staying that way,” he told Becker’s.
3. Steven Gubin, MD. President of Germantown, Tenn.-based Stern Cardiovascular. Dr. Gubin, who joined the group as its 10th cardiologist, now leads 46 cardiologists, more than 500 employees and about 21 clinics across Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi. In January, Stern returned to an independent model after a 14-year arrangement with Baptist, and in March it launched an expansion with Atria Health, a private equity-backed partner that does not take an ownership stake. Becker’s named Stern one of five cardiology groups to watch in 2026.
4. Marcelo Hochman, MD. Facial plastic surgeon at The Facial Surgery Center (Mount Pleasant, S.C.). Dr. Hochman, a former president of Independent Doctors of South Carolina, is a steady voice on what physicians give up when they leave independent practice. “After a few years, you realize you’re a very small cog in a gigantic wheel,” he told Becker’s in March about physician employment. He has also urged physicians to stop trying to replicate big systems as care shifts outpatient and to consider alternative business models.
5. David Jevsevar, MD. CEO of Richmond-based OrthoVirginia. Dr. Jevsevar, a practicing orthopedic surgeon, has led OrthoVirginia since 2022, after serving as head of orthopedics and a regional leader at Dartmouth Health. The group had about 160 physicians across 37 locations as of 2024. “In independent practice, we’re delivering better outcomes at lower cost because of our model, not in spite of it,” he told Becker’s in April.
6. Zadie Kenkare, MD. Internist leading a concierge internal medicine practice in Madison, Conn. Dr. Kenkare, a board-certified internist and fellow of the American College of Physicians, moved her practice from a larger patient panel to an annual membership model this month, launching a full-practice program with New York-based Concierge Choice Physicians. She earned her medical degree at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and trained at Yale New Haven Hospital.
7. Dinesh Madhok, MD. CEO of Jacksonville, Fla.-based Borland Groover. Dr. Madhok leads a gastroenterology group founded in 1947 that has turned down private equity more than once. In June, it opened its 27th Florida location, and it has added four ASCs in the last five years. He has restructured the group’s C-suite and is adding obesity, fatty liver and microbiome service lines. “We’ve made a conscious decision to stay independent,” he told Becker’s.
8. Amy Mulcaster, DO. CEO of The Portland Clinic (Portland, Ore.). Dr. Mulcaster became the first woman and the first physician to lead the physician-owned multispecialty clinic in more than 50 years. Founded in 1921, the clinic sees more than 90,000 patients a year across six sites. A gynecologist and partner-owner since 2015, she served as chief medical officer from 2020 to 2024. She trained at Michigan State University’s osteopathic medical college.
9. Brooke Pabst, MD. Partner at Sandhill Emergency Physicians (Pinehurst, N.C.). Dr. Pabst is a partner in a physician-owned emergency medicine group that reworked how it recruits physicians, with most hires on a path to partnership. “We are an independent democratic group — we have a lot more ownership,” she told Becker’s. That structure lets the group make staffing decisions “based on the community’s need and the acuity,” she said.
10. Teresa Tam, MD. Founder and owner of All for Women Healthcare (Chicago). Dr. Tam, a minimally invasive gynecologic surgeon, opened her practice in 2013 after 15 years in practice. She is also medical director of minimally invasive gynecologic surgery at Ascension Saint Francis and a three-time Castle Connolly Top Doctor.
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