Hamburg, February 28, 2023 – Setting up your own practice is apparently out: the number of doctors and dentists in private practice is declining in fourteen and fifteen federal states. On the other hand, there was an increase of a good third nationwide in 2022 in the number of therapists employed in practices and medical care centers (MVZ). This is shown by the most recent analysis of the outpatient care landscape published by the Health Foundation.
Number of doctors and dentists in private practice has fallen
“The number of doctors fell in all federal states with the exception of Hamburg and Berlin over the course of 2022,” reports Christoph Dippe, CEO of the Health Foundation. The strongest decline was in North Rhine-Westphalia with a minus of 19.0 percent. This corresponds to around 4,700 doctors who do not have their own practice.
In the case of resident dentists, the number even decreased in fifteen federal states: the decline was most pronounced in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (minus 9.3 percent). There was only an increase in Baden-Württemberg.
On the other hand, a different picture emerges for the resident psychological psychotherapists: “They are increasing in fourteen federal states,” says Dippe. Only in Bremen and Lower Saxony did their numbers decrease.
Number of employed therapists increased by a third
The alternatives to having your own branch were very popular in 2022: The number of therapists employed in practices and medical care centers (MVZ) nationwide rose by a total of 33.4 percent. North Rhine-Westphalia recorded the largest increase in this area with around 4,600 employed therapists: more than in the previous year.
Around 1,700 fewer practitioners nationwide
At the end of 2022, around 250,000 doctors, dentists and psychological psychotherapists were actively involved in outpatient care. That is about 1,700 fewer than in the previous year. Resident doctors, dentists and psychological psychotherapists as well as employed therapists in practices and medical care centers (MVZ) who were actively practicing patient care in 2022 were taken into account for the analysis. The information comes from the structural index of medical care, which the Health Foundation has been maintaining and constantly developing for more than 25 years.
About the Health Foundation
The non-profit and independent Health Foundation is committed to more transparency in the healthcare system. During this time, the Foundation has created many services that offer independent information and practical guidance to a wide audience.
The basis for these numerous services is the structure directory, which the Foundation takes great care to keep up to date. The majority of statutory and private health insurance companies obtain information from the directory. The Health Foundation thus supplies around 75 million insured persons in Germany.
In addition to its statutory tasks, the Health Foundation continuously carries out studies, such as the study series “Doctors in the future market of health” since 2005. The foundation records the mood, opinions and experiences of the medical profession and provides research results on current issues.