Nine months have passed since we launched our first DS50 fellowship. In January, we partnered with 50 therapists to help them build their practices 100% from the ground up. As a first in healthcare, the six-week fellowship was designed to teach therapists how to start, grow, and manage an independent therapy practice. Following the success of the DS50 fellowship, we completed the DS100 fellowship in June. After helping over 100 therapists build their practices, it's time for us to open access to all licensed therapists and help them regain their practice independence with Ease.

The future of private practice has much to offer. Here's why.

1. Healthcare access is inequitable and consolidation is making it worse for patients. An evidence-based solution is private practice.

Historically, private practice was the default and patients had immediate access to care in their communities. In the last 20 years, hospitals and startups have taken over care, and turned clinicians into commodities.

When patients seek care from these organizations, they consult clinicians whose delivery and distribution of care are managed by administrators and shareholders, not the clinicians themselves. As employees or gig workers, they must follow the guidelines of their employer before attending to their patients' needs.

Healthcare costs and clinician access have been affected the most by this. In the last five years, more than half of U.S. adults have gone into debt due to healthcare costs. According to a recent study by Merrit Hawkins, the average wait time for an appointment has increased by 24% since 2004.

Furthermore, patients find it increasingly difficult to obtain care from clinicians who look like them, speak their language, and have ties to their communities. This has led to massive disparities in healthcare due to low health literacy, inappropriate care management, and geographic barriers to follow up.

However, there is an enormous economic and social impact that private practices can have on the community as a small business. It not only provides equitable and affordable healthcare, but also creates jobs, sponsors local community events, and contributes to the local economy.

Patients and communities benefit more from private practice.

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2. The employment model is burning out clinicians, putting them at risk of leaving healthcare. We retain them through private practice.

As long as the status quo persists, clinician burnout will continue to rise. The Uberization of healthcare (gig telehealth models) initially attracted clinicians who sought alternative employment opportunities, but they soon discovered the same low pay, increased workload, and administrative oversight still existed. We are now at risk of clinicians leaving the healthcare system in order to avoid these models that have contributed to their burnout.

Since we are clinicians ourselves, we believe that private practice will increase their satisfaction with healthcare delivery and distribution, and ultimately keep more of them in healthcare.

This can only be achieved by providing equitable opportunity to entrepreneurship. That's exactly what we've been striving for since our fellowship program launched in January. Clinicians shouldn't be limited to employment options, and the option of entrepreneurship should be available to all 4.5 million licensed clinicians in the United States.

For only $500 per year, Ease is transforming the way clinicians manage and start their private practices using a category-defining corporate card that helps clinicians rediscover their independence. We're excited for the opportunity to change healthcare forever by removing the barriers of finance and infrastructure that used to prevent clinicians from starting and growing practices.

Join us in becoming independent together. Are you ready to start or grow your own practice? Get pre-approved today!

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About Ease

Ease is a corporate card and practice operations software for private practices. We help clinicians start, grow, and manage private practices cheaper, better, faster than traditional brick-and-mortar models using embedded banking, clinical practice infrastructure, and corporate card expense management. Visit Ease at easepractice.com to learn more.