Healthcare Insights
Top IDNs by physician group membership
Due to the recent shifts towards value-based care, many hospitals and integrated delivery networks (IDNs) see an opportunity to expand their market share and lower expenses by acquiring and affiliating themselves with physician groups. For physician groups, being part of a large-scale provider organization can help alleviate financial pressures and allow physicians to focus more on practicing medicine and less on administrative tasks.
How many IDNs are in the U.S.?
The Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product tracks more than 930 active IDNs. These networks are affiliated with 2,700 physician groups nationwide for an average of three physician groups per network.
Using HospitalView, we created a list of the top 20 IDNs with the most affiliated physician groups. Data was accessed on October 10, 2023.
| Rank | Definitive ID | IDN Name | City | State | # of physician groups | Explore dataset |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4710 | HCA Healthcare | Nashville | TN | 157 | Explore |
| 2 | 4736 | Novant Health | Winston Salem | NC | 75 | Explore |
| 3 | 981465 | CommonSpirit Health | Chicago | IL | 58 | Explore |
| 4 | 542233 | Community Health Systems | Franklin | TN | 57 | Explore |
| 5 | 992401 | OptumCare | Eden Prairie | MN | 45 | Explore |
| 6 | 7091 | Willis-Knighton Health System | Shreveport | LA | 44 | Explore |
| 7 | 7004 | LifePoint Health | Brentwood | TN | 38 | Explore |
| 8 | 4712 | Trinity Health | Livonia | MI | 36 | Explore |
| 9 | 7055 | Universal Health Services | King Of Prussia | PA | 34 | Explore |
| 10 | 4685 | Tenet Healthcare | Dallas | TX | 31 | Explore |
| 10 | 7228 | Northside Hospital System | Atlanta | GA | 31 | Explore |
| 11 | 4695 | Ascension Health | Saint Louis | MO | 23 | Explore |
| 11 | 542003 | Prime Healthcare Services | Ontario | CA | 23 | Explore |
| 12 | 7230 | Acadia Healthcare | Franklin | TN | 19 | Explore |
| 12 | 6448 | University of Pittsburgh Medical Center | Pittsburgh | PA | 19 | Explore |
| 13 | 577357 | Baylor Scott & White Health | Dallas | TX | 18 | Explore |
| 13 | 4716 | Providence St Joseph Health | Renton | WA | 18 | Explore |
| 14 | 274282 | UNC Health | Chapel Hill | NC | 17 | Explore |
| 14 | 7155 | Allegheny Health Network | Pittsburgh | PA | 17 | Explore |
| 15 | 7110 | Indian Health Service | Rockville | MD | 16 | Explore |
Fig. 1 Data is from the Definitive Healthcare’s HospitalView product. IDN data is sourced from proprietary research and updated on a continuous basis. Data is accurate as of October 2023.
What IDN has the most affiliated physician groups?
The IDN with the most affiliated physician groups is HCA Healthcare with 157. HCA Healthcare is by far the largest IDN in the country as it ranks at the top of the list for the largest IDNs in the U.S. by the number of hospitals, net patient revenue, total hospital square footage, and number of hospital beds. Physician groups are just one of the main components of HCA Healthcare’s system, as they also currently operate more than 200 hospitals, as well as ambulatory surgery centers, urgent care clinics, imaging centers, and other facilities across 19 states.
In second place for IDNs with the most affiliated physician groups is Novant Health with 75 physician groups. Primarily serving patients in North and South Carolina, this IDN was formed by the merger of Carolina Medicorp and Presbyterian Health Services in 1997. Today, the health system has over 250 total locations and sees over 6 million patients annually.
CommonSpirit Health rounds out the top three with 57 physician groups in its network. Another nationwide IDN, CommonSpirit Health was created when Catholic Health Initiatives merged with Dignity Health in 2019. Despite ranking third for physician group affiliations, this IDN still ranks as the largest health system in the U.S. by number of total affiliations, as well as the fourth largest health system by bed size.
Collectively, this list accounts for over 776 physician group affiliations, which is still less than one percent of all the physician groups currently tracked in PhysicianGroupView.
What is a physician group?
A physician group refers to one or more physicians operating as an organization to provide care. Physician groups can be classified as either a private practice, where a physician owns and manages their own office, or as a group practice (also known as a provider group) where two or more physicians provide care at the same facility.
Physician groups allow physicians of one or more specialties to work together to serve a variety of patient needs within the community. Having multiple specialties in one location can offer more convenience for patients as well as higher-quality care at a lower cost.
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