The Future of US Healthcare Private Practice

Most of the time, the whole truth is not as outlandish as a version of or half of the truth. The media is infamous for its capitalization on the sensational parts of a story; consequently, the public falls victim to misinformation and partial coverage. The topic of healthcare is not exempt from these biased practices.

As previously discussed in our paper Healthcare is Not Broken in America, various news outlets prioritize capturing their viewers or readers rather than promoting the distribution of factual information. The social effect created as a result of selective reporting “enhances social coordination as individuals more readily accept the information if they believe others have also accepted it.” (1) As journalists hook their audience with staggering headlines, they further deceive by singling out “shocking” statistics without first giving context. For example, a recent claim highlighted that “2016 marks the first time that physician owners are not the majority,” (2) leaving readers with the impression that private practices across America must be in rapid decline. Nevertheless, the same article then goes on to evaluate the distinction between small and medium to large-sized physician-owned practices, and how the varying sizes of said practices are what is changing, not the rejection of healthcare privatization as a whole.