The changing dynamics of doctors' offices

The New York Times reports on how some physicians are dispensing drugs in their offices. Meanwhile, CNN Money explores the "demise" of the solo practitioner.

The New York Times: Insurers Pay Big Markups As Doctors Dispense Drugs
When a pharmacy sells the heartburn drug Zantac, each pill costs about 35 cents. But doctors dispensing it to patients in their offices have charged nearly 10 times that price, or $3.25 a pill (Meier and Thomas, 7/11).

CNN Money: Demise Of The Solo Doctor
The solo doctor is a vanishing breed. Squeezed by high costs and shrinking insurance reimbursements, independent doctors are closing up shop or going to work at hospitals or bigger group practices where they aren't directly responsible for overhead costs. Fresh insight on the trend came this week in a report from one of the country's largest physician recruiting firms. The finding: By 2014, two-thirds of the nation's nearly 1 million doctors will be employed by hospitals. As hospitals staff up, they are plucking off physicians who once ran independent practices but couldn't afford to stay in business, said Travis Singleton, senior vice president with Merritt Hawkins, a physician recruiting and consulting firm that did the survey (Kavilanz, 7/11).