I know many people who want to become physicians and eventually open their own practice in whatever specialty they choose, since it gives them more freedom than a hospital job. It also allows them to take a lot of profit home from insurance companies. After learning about the different business structures in Dr. Simon’s lectures, I think the best approach would be an LLC for a Professional Corporation (PC), depending on the state. 

A sole proprietorship would be extremely risky for a physician, especially because of medical lawsuits and how everything the physician worked so hard for could easily be lost after a mistake. A partnership also introduces the same issues, and it even adds more liability, one can say, because if the partner does something wrong, the other partner will be affected. 

With an LLC or PC, there is flexibility and protection. The corporate veil would protect the physicians, of course, and innovation can be implemented with this protection. With the advent of AI, physicians could find unique ways to better treat their patients by using AI to make diagnostic platforms or quick patient history retrieval software. This can all be done without the physicians’ personal assets being put at risk. They could also work with biomedical engineers and other tech people to build these new technologies. 

From taxation, the pass-through taxation of an LLC is ideal for a business in the early-stage, since profits will only be taxed once based on the owner’s personal return. This is unlike a C-Corp that faces double taxation. However, with growth, the physician’s business can be turned into a C-Corp. 

I think a big factor would be time; however, since physicians would have to balance patient care and business development at the same time. However, with the proper team, physicians could use their place in healthcare to create solutions from a different point of view and find things that truly work for patients. 

Do you think physicians should focus their entrepreneurial efforts on improving patient care delivery through telehealth and clinics or on innovation with new devices and software? Which one do you think has a greater long-term impact on patient care, and if you think it’s both, then at what ratio should each effort be conducted?