10 Self-Employment Options for Doctors in The Marketplace

Empowering Doctors to Thrive in the Medical Marketplace

As the healthcare industry undergoes rapid changes, more and more physicians are turning to self-employment to regain control over their careers. The shift away from traditional employment models allows doctors to practice medicine on their own terms, leading to greater autonomy, flexibility, and financial freedom. But what are the options available in the self-employment landscape for physicians? How can you decide which model best fits your needs?

In this blog post, we’ll explore the primary categories of self-employment for physicians, from independent contracting and cash-only practices to telehealth entrepreneurship and consulting. Whether you’re looking for a full-time commitment to self-employment or something more gradual, you’ll find a model that aligns with your goals.

1. Independent Contracting: Flexibility and Autonomy

Independent contracting is an attractive option for physicians who want greater control over their work schedules and locations. Rather than being tied to a single employer, independent contractors can offer their services on a temporary or part-time basis across multiple healthcare organizations. Within independent contracting, physicians have several distinct options:

• Locum Tenens: This option allows you to provide short-term coverage in various locations, often filling in for physicians who are on leave or in areas where there is a shortage of medical professionals. It’s perfect for those who enjoy travel or aren’t ready to settle in one place.

  Read more: Navigating Locum Tenens Contracts: A Physician’s Guide

• Telemedicine: The rise of telehealth has opened doors for physicians to consult with patients virtually, offering greater flexibility and work-from-home opportunities. Many physicians work as independent contractors for telehealth platforms, or they can build their own virtual practices.

• Hospitalist: Some physicians prefer to work as hospitalists, contracted to provide inpatient care without the long-term commitment of traditional employment. This allows for greater flexibility in scheduling and often better work-life balance.

• Employment Lite: This hybrid model offers the best of both worlds for physicians who want more control but aren’t ready to fully dive into self-employment. Employment lite typically involves forming a long-term independent contracting job with a large corporate employer. You gain the ease of them managing all elements of practice management, you gain the control over the tax optimization of your 1099 income. This can be a stepping stone for physicians transitioning from full-time employment to full self-employment. This was the type of contract I transitioned for my last decade of practice and loved it!

  Read more: Every Physician Needs To Know About Employment Lite

Key Benefit: Independent contracting provides maximum flexibility, allowing you to choose when, where, and how much you want to work. You can also explore different settings without being locked into one place.

2. Private Practice Ownership: Building Your Legacy

For those of you who want full autonomy over your practice, private practice ownership remains one of the most fulfilling paths to self-employment. As the owner, you can decide how to run your business, set your hours, and control the quality of care you provide to patients.

• Solo Practice: Running a solo practice gives you the ultimate control over every aspect of your business, from patient care to business management. However, it also means you’ll take on administrative tasks like hiring staff, managing payroll, and marketing your practice.

• Group Practice: For those who want the benefits of private practice but prefer a collaborative environment, group practice can be an ideal solution. In this model, you share responsibilities and overhead costs with other physicians while maintaining a high degree of control over patient care and decision-making.

• Specialty Practices: Niche private practices focus on particular specialties, such as dermatology, orthopedics, or plastic surgery

Key Benefit: Owning a private practice lets you establish a long-term professional legacy and build equity, all while providing personalized care to your patients.

3. Direct Primary Care (DPC) / Cash-Only Practices: Simplifying Healthcare

One of the growing trends in physician self-employment is the move toward Direct Primary Care (DPC) or cash-only practices. These models eliminate the need for third-party payers, like insurance companies, which often bog down healthcare providers with administrative tasks and reduce face time with patients.

• Direct Primary Care: In the DPC model, patients pay a monthly or yearly membership fee for comprehensive care. This allows you to focus on patient relationships and personalized care without the need for high patient volume to cover costs.

  Read more: The Rise of Direct Primary Care

• Concierge Medicine: A more exclusive, often higher-cost version of DPC, where patients receive more personalized care and immediate access to their physician.

• Cash-Only Specialty Clinics: Physicians specializing in areas like urgent care, weight management, or dermatology may opt for a pay-per-service model. Patients pay out-of-pocket for each service, giving you more freedom over pricing and avoiding the hassles of insurance billing.

Key Benefit: The direct care model simplifies your practice, leading to fewer administrative burdens and stronger doctor-patient relationships.

4. Telehealth Entrepreneurship: The Future of Medicine

The rapid growth of telehealth has given physicians unprecedented opportunities to run their own virtual practices. You can specialize in a range of fields, from primary care to mental health, without the overhead of a physical office.

• Virtual Clinics: By operating a virtual clinic, you can serve patients from anywhere, providing consultations and treatments through secure video platforms.

• Telemedicine Platforms: Some physicians create or join niche telemedicine platforms focusing on specific populations, like rural or uninsured patients.

• AI-Powered Solutions: Physicians interested in technology can partner with or develop AI-based diagnostic and treatment platforms to expand the capabilities of telemedicine. That is what I am doing with ChatRx as I transition out of full time rural family medicine

Key Benefit: Telehealth entrepreneurship offers the flexibility of working remotely while expanding your reach to a broader patient base.

5. Health Coaching and Consulting: Leveraging Your Expertise

Many physicians who want to step away from direct clinical care find success in health coaching or consulting. These options allow you to use your medical knowledge in a variety of non-clinical roles.

• Health and Wellness Coaching: Physicians can help individuals improve their health through lifestyle changes, diet modifications, and wellness planning.

• Medical Consulting: Physicians can act as consultants for insurance companies, the federal government, legal firms, healthcare startups, or large corporations, offering expertise in various areas like medical technology, healthcare management, or litigation support.

• Expert Witness Services: Serving as expert witnesses in malpractice lawsuits or insurance disputes

Key Benefit: Health coaching and consulting allow you to leverage your experience to create high-impact, lucrative career opportunities outside of direct patient care.

6. Medical Directorship and Advisory Roles: Leading the Future

Many physicians are drawn to leadership roles within healthcare organizations or startups, where they can provide guidance and oversight without the demands of full-time employment.

• Medical Directorships: Physicians can oversee clinical operations, protocol development, and quality assurance for hospitals, clinics, or nursing homes, hospice, home health, and medical start-ups on a part-time or advisory basis.

• Advisory Roles for Startups: Partnering with healthcare and technology startups, physicians can help shape the future of medical innovation by offering strategic clinical guidance.

• Non-Profit and Public Health Consulting: Physicians advising public health initiatives, community organizations, or non-profits on improving healthcare delivery.

Key Benefit: Leadership roles provide physicians with the opportunity to influence healthcare policies and innovations while maintaining flexibility.

7. Functional and Integrative Medicine: A Holistic Approach

For physicians interested in alternative approaches to medicine, functional and integrative practices offer a unique self-employment model. These practices focus on personalized treatment plans that prioritize lifestyle changes and natural therapies alongside traditional medicine.

• Functional Medicine: Physicians work to address the root causes of chronic conditions using personalized lifestyle interventions.

• Integrative Medicine: This model blends conventional treatments with complementary therapies like acupuncture, nutrition, and yoga.

• Regenerative Medicine: Clinics offering cutting-edge treatments such as stem cell therapy or platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections.

Key Benefit: These practices cater to the growing demand for holistic healthcare, allowing physicians to offer more personalized and preventive care.

8. Physician Entrepreneurship and Business Ventures

• Overview: Physicians looking to create scalable businesses may venture into healthcare-related businesses that are not directly tied to patient care.

• Examples:

  • SaaS Products: Physicians developing software solutions for healthcare systems, such as scheduling, billing, or telehealth platforms.

  • Medical Devices: Physicians creating and commercializing medical devices or diagnostics. The heart of my new start-up ChatRx is a Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) that I designed and created.

  • Health-Related Products: Developing wellness products, supplements, or fitness devices that cater to specific health needs.

Key Benefit: Physician entrepreneurship allows you to create scalable, high-impact businesses that diversify your income and expand your influence..

9. Non-Clinical Careers

• Overview: Some physicians transition out of clinical medicine entirely, using their medical degrees to move into industries like writing, speaking, or business.

• Examples:

  • Medical Writing and Content Creation: Creating blogs, medical literature, or content for continuing education courses.

  • Public Speaking / Thought Leadership: Speaking at conferences, corporate events, or in the media on health-related issues.

  • Medical Software Development: Physicians involved in the creation and implementation of software solutions for healthcare industries.

  • Real Estate Investing: Some physicians also use their financial acumen to enter real estate (e.g., short-term rentals like your investment properties). If you are looking to jump into this space, I recommend consider buying a short term Rental(STR) and The Semi-Retired MD’s Accelerated Wealth Course is the perfect resource to guide you!

Key Benefit: Non-clinical careers offer physicians the opportunity to use their medical knowledge in creative, flexible ways, providing professional fulfillment and diversified income streams outside of direct patient care.

10. Education and Training

• Overview: You can also set up your own businesses focused on education and training, often through continuing medical education (CME) courses, coaching for medical boards, or medical student mentorship. This encompasses a lot what I do with SimpliMD, including international speaking for CME Away.

  Read more: International CME With CME Away: The Power of Self-Employment

• Examples:

  • CME Provider: Running online or in-person courses for other healthcare professionals seeking continuing education credits. Please join me in Iceland in the summer of 2025, and Ireland in a castle in the fall of 2025

  • Physician Coaching: Offering personalized coaching to physicians on career development, burnout prevention, or transitioning to self-employment.

  • Medical Student & Resident Mentorship: Some physicians choose to mentor or coach medical students, residents, and fellows as they progress through their careers. This offers a fulfilling way to give back to the medical community and keeps you connected to training environments that keep your professional skills up to date.

Key Benefit: Education and training provide physicians with a fulfilling way to share their expertise, create lasting professional impact, and generate scalable income, all while enjoying flexibility and autonomy in their careers.

Take Control of Your Career with SimpliMD

There is so many self-employment options just waiting for you out there! If you're ready to explore self-employment as a physician and want to chart your own path to independence, SimpliMD can help guide you.

For only $99, you can sign up for a personalized micro-business consult with SimpliMD, which includes a one-year SimpliMD membership (valued at $2,500) and access to our premium suite of business products. During your consult, you'll receive:

• Expert advice on choosing the right self-employment model for you

• A strategy for setting up your micro-corporation

• Tailored business resources to help you grow

Ready to take the next step to start your on micro-corporation? Check out SimpliMD’s Business Plan Guide for an additional $99. This essential resource includes:

• SimpliMD Business Plan Template: A comprehensive, easy-to-use template crafted specifically for self-employed physicians.

• Micro-Corporation Budget Template: Save hours of time with this pre-built financial tool to manage your practice’s expenses and revenues.

• SWOT Analysis Template: A strategic planning tool to help you identify and optimize the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your business.

And don’t forget to enroll in our flagship course, “Creating A Practice Without Walls”, where you’ll learn how to create a thriving micro-corporation that gives you agency in the marketplace. The course covers everything from building a telehealth practice to expanding your services through multiple income streams.

Take control of your professional future today by scheduling your micro-business consult, purchasing our business plan, and enrolling in “Creating A Practice Without Walls.” Your journey to professional freedom begins now.