U.S. physicians continue to sell their private practices andseek employment with health care systems, according to a newAccenture survey.

By 2013, less than one-third of physicians are expected toremain truly independent. Accenture reports the rate of independentphysicians employed by health systems will grow by an annual 5percent over three years.

“Health reform is challenging the entire system to deliverimproved care through insight driven health,” Kristin Ficery,senior executive at Accenture Health, says in a statement. “We seean increasing number of physicians leaving private practice to joinhospital systems, which will force all stakeholders to revise andrefine their business models, product offerings and servicestrategies.”

This change will require hospitals to determine how to retainand recruit the correct mix of physicians, especially inhigh-growth service lines, including cardiovascular care,orthopedics, cancer care and radiology, Accenture reports.

Patients will increasingly move to large health systems, asopposed to the current trend of visiting doctors in private, smallpractice settings.

Physicians surveyed said they are increasingly attracted to thebenefits offered by hospital-based employment opportunities. Theycited benefits including relief from administrativeresponsibilities; greater access to leading-edge health care ITtools, facilities and equipment; a more manageable work week andmore stability.

Accenture’s “Physician Employment Report” was a result ofin-person and phone interviews of physicians and hospitals fromSeptember to November 2010, with analysis completed in 2011.