Global Physician & Ambulatory Healthcare Services Market Outlook, 2031

The global physician and ambulatory healthcare services industry covers medical care delivered outside hospital inpatient settings, including primary care practices, specialist physician offices, multispecialty medical groups, ambulatory surgery centres, urgent care and walk-in clinics, retail clinics, outpatient diagnostic imaging centres, freestanding emergency departments, community health centres, occupational health clinics and telehealth services. It is where most patient contact with the health system takes place, covering check-ups, chronic disease management, minor procedures, same-day surgery, diagnostic tests and follow-up care. In the United States, physician and clinical services account for about a fifth of national health spending, and ambulatory surgery centres perform a growing share of procedures such as cataract surgery, joint replacements, endoscopies and pain management. Major operators include UnitedHealth Group's Optum, which employs or is affiliated with tens of thousands of physicians; CVS Health's Oak Street Health and MinuteClinic; Humana's CenterWell; Amazon's One Medical; HCA Healthcare and Tenet's United Surgical Partners International, a leading ambulatory surgery operator; SCA Health; Concentra; US Physical Therapy; and large physician groups such as Kaiser Permanente's Permanente Medical Groups, Privia Health, agilon health and many private equity-backed specialty platforms. Outside the United States, general practitioners in Europe, polyclinics in Asia and private clinic chains in India, the Middle East and Latin America form the backbone of ambulatory care.

The pandemic temporarily closed physician offices and elective surgery in 2020, then accelerated a lasting shift toward outpatient, virtual and consumer-oriented care. Telehealth rose from a small share of visits to a large proportion at the peak of the pandemic and has remained an important channel, especially for mental health. Ownership of physician practices has changed dramatically, with hospitals, insurers and private equity firms acquiring practices, and a majority of US physicians now employed by hospitals or corporate entities rather than owning their own practices. Retailers and insurers pursued primary care aggressively: Amazon bought One Medical in 2023 and CVS acquired Oak Street Health for about USD 10.6 billion the same year, but several retail strategies struggled, with Walmart closing all of its Walmart Health clinics in April 2024 and Walgreens scaling back its VillageMD business after large losses. Regulators have scrutinised consolidation, including the Federal Trade Commission's 2023 lawsuit against private equity-backed US Anesthesia Partners. Medicare physician payment has been a recurring issue, with cuts in several years before a one-year increase for 2026 finalised in November 2025, combined with an efficiency adjustment reducing payments for many procedures. Physician shortages and burnout remain serious, and AI-powered clinical documentation tools such as Microsoft's Dragon Copilot, launched in March 2025, and Abridge are being adopted rapidly to reduce administrative workload.

Market Dynamics Market Drivers • Shift of Care from Hospitals to Outpatient SettingsAdvances in anaesthesia, minimally invasive surgery and imaging allow more procedures to be performed safely without hospital admission, and payers encourage lower-cost settings. Medicare has added procedures such as total knee and hip replacements to the list of services allowed in ambulatory surgery centres. Patients prefer the convenience and lower out-of-pocket costs of outpatient care, supporting growth of ambulatory surgery centres, imaging centres and specialist clinics.
• Ageing Populations and Chronic Disease ManagementOlder people and patients with chronic conditions need frequent physician visits, tests and procedures, increasing demand for primary care and specialists such as cardiologists, oncologists, orthopaedic surgeons and ophthalmologists. Value-based care models, including Medicare Advantage and accountable care organisations, reward physician groups that keep patients healthy and out of hospital, encouraging investment in primary care for older adults.

Market Challenges • Physician Shortages and BurnoutMany countries face shortages of physicians, particularly in primary care, psychiatry and rural areas, and the Association of American Medical Colleges projects a significant physician shortfall in the United States by the mid-2030s. Burnout, driven by administrative burden, electronic health record documentation and prior authorisation requirements, leads doctors to reduce hours or leave practice. Shortages lengthen waiting times and limit growth.
• Reimbursement Pressure and Regulatory ScrutinyPhysician payments from government programmes have not kept pace with inflation in many countries, and Medicare physician fees fell in real terms over two decades. Commercial insurers increasingly use prior authorisation and claim denials. Consolidation of physician practices by hospitals, insurers and private equity has drawn scrutiny from antitrust regulators and state legislatures, and some states have introduced reviews of healthcare transactions.

Market Trends • Virtual Care and AI-Enabled PracticeTelehealth, remote patient monitoring and asynchronous messaging have become standard parts of ambulatory care, and many practices offer hybrid models. AI tools, including ambient scribes that generate clinical notes from conversations, coding and billing automation, and triage chatbots, are spreading quickly and aim to reduce administrative work. Large electronic health record vendors are embedding AI into their systems, and health systems report time savings for physicians.
• Consolidation and Value-Based Primary CarePhysician practices continue to consolidate into large groups owned by hospitals, insurers and investors, while value-based primary care companies focus on Medicare Advantage patients and receive fixed payments per patient. Some of these models faced pressure in 2024 and 2025 as medical costs rose and Medicare Advantage payment changes reduced revenue, leading to restructuring. Specialty platforms in dermatology, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, cardiology and orthopaedics remain active areas of investment.



Segment Analysis Physician offices and medical groups account for the largest share of the market, while ambulatory surgery centres and urgent care are among the fastest-growing service settings. Physician offices and medical groups, including solo practices, single-specialty groups and large multispecialty groups, provide the majority of ambulatory visits, covering primary care, specialist consultations, minor procedures, in-office testing and chronic disease management. Ambulatory surgery centres perform same-day surgical and procedural care, including ophthalmology, gastroenterology, orthopaedics, pain management, urology and ear, nose and throat procedures, often at lower cost than hospital outpatient departments, and many are jointly owned by physicians and operators such as USPI and SCA Health. Urgent care centres treat minor injuries and illnesses without appointments and have expanded rapidly, supported by health systems and private operators. Retail clinics, such as CVS MinuteClinic, provide basic services in pharmacies and stores, although several retailers have retreated. Diagnostic imaging centres provide MRI, CT, ultrasound and X-ray services outside hospitals. Community health centres serve low-income and uninsured patients, funded partly by government grants. Freestanding emergency departments offer emergency care outside hospitals. Telehealth services, including virtual-first primary care and mental health platforms, form a separate channel. Occupational health, dialysis clinics and physical therapy clinics form additional segments.

Primary care accounts for the largest number of ambulatory visits, while specialty care generates a larger share of revenue because of procedures, imaging and higher fees. Primary care, including family medicine, internal medicine, paediatrics and geriatrics, provides first-contact and ongoing care, preventive services, vaccinations and management of chronic conditions, and it accounts for the largest share of physician visits. Primary care is the focus of value-based care companies and retail entrants, and many countries are investing to strengthen it. Specialty care, including cardiology, oncology, orthopaedics, gastroenterology, dermatology, ophthalmology, urology, neurology and obstetrics and gynaecology, generates higher revenue per patient because of procedures, infusions, imaging and advanced diagnostics. Oncology practices administer chemotherapy and immunotherapy in outpatient settings and are among the largest revenue generators. Surgical specialties benefit from the move of procedures to ambulatory surgery centres. Behavioural health, including psychiatry and therapy, has seen rapid growth, particularly through telehealth. Emergency and urgent care services treat acute conditions outside hospitals. Diagnostic services, including laboratory and imaging, support both primary and specialty care. Anaesthesia, radiology and pathology groups provide hospital-based and ambulatory physician services and have been targets of private equity investment.

Private physician-owned practices are declining as a share of the market, while hospital-owned, insurer-owned and investor-backed groups account for a growing share of physician and ambulatory services. Physician-owned practices, including independent solo and group practices, have historically dominated ambulatory care but now employ a minority of US physicians, as rising administrative costs, technology requirements and payment pressure encourage doctors to join larger organisations. Hospital and health system-owned practices account for a large share of employed physicians, as hospitals acquire practices to secure referrals and build networks. Insurer-owned and corporate groups, including Optum, CVS's Oak Street Health and Aetna, Humana's CenterWell and Elevance's Carelon, have become some of the largest employers of physicians in the United States. Private equity-backed platforms have acquired practices in dermatology, ophthalmology, gastroenterology, orthopaedics, anaesthesia, radiology and other specialties, attracting criticism over prices and care quality. Retail and technology companies, including Amazon's One Medical, operate primary care clinics, while Walmart exited primary care in 2024. Public and government clinics, including community health centres, Veterans Affairs clinics and national health service general practices in Europe and elsewhere, remain major providers. In many European countries general practitioners are independent contractors to national health systems.

Government programmes and private insurance pay for most physician and ambulatory services in developed markets, while out-of-pocket payments dominate in many emerging markets. Government programmes, including Medicare, Medicaid and Veterans Affairs in the United States and national health systems and social insurance in Europe, Canada, Japan and Australia, fund a large share of physician and ambulatory care. Medicare's physician fee schedule and ambulatory surgery centre payment rules strongly influence US practice economics, and payment updates each year are closely watched. Private health insurance, including employer-sponsored and individual plans, pays higher rates than government programmes in the United States and is the main source of profit for many practices. Medicare Advantage plans, managed by private insurers, pay primary care groups through capitated and value-based arrangements. Out-of-pocket payments, including deductibles and copayments in insured markets and direct payments in uninsured or underinsured markets, are a major source of funding in India, much of Asia, Latin America and Africa, where private clinics serve patients who pay directly. Direct primary care and concierge medicine models charge patients subscription fees. Employer-sponsored on-site and near-site clinics provide primary care for employees of large companies. Value-based payment arrangements reward outcomes and cost control rather than the volume of services.

Regional Analysis North America leads the physician and ambulatory healthcare services market because of high US spending on physician and outpatient care, a large ambulatory surgery centre industry and extensive corporate investment in physician groups, while Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing region. North America, led by the United States, accounts for the largest share of the market. US spending on physician and clinical services exceeds USD 1 trillion a year, and the country has more than 6,000 Medicare-certified ambulatory surgery centres. Corporate consolidation has reshaped the market, with Optum, CVS, Humana and Amazon building large physician networks and private equity investing in specialty groups, while Walmart's exit from primary care in 2024 and Walgreens' retreat from VillageMD showed the difficulty of retail models. Medicare's 2026 physician fee schedule, finalised in November 2025, provided a temporary payment increase while reducing values for many procedures. Canada faces primary care shortages, with millions of residents lacking a family doctor. Europe is the second largest region, with general practitioners acting as gatekeepers in the UK, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and other countries, and growing private outpatient chains and day surgery centres, while the UK's NHS faces long waiting lists and GP workforce pressure. Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing region, with rising demand for private outpatient clinics, day surgery and diagnostic centres in China, India, Southeast Asia and Australia, and Japan's large network of private clinics serving an ageing population. India's private clinic chains and diagnostics companies are expanding, and China is building community health centres to strengthen primary care. Latin America, led by Brazil and Mexico, has large private clinic networks and pharmacy-based consultations, while the Middle East is investing in outpatient care through privatisation and new clinic networks.

Key Developments November 2025: CMS finalised a payment increase for 2026, boosted by a one-year statutory update, while applying an efficiency adjustment that reduces payment values for many non-time-based procedures.
March 2025: Microsoft introduced Dragon Copilot, an AI assistant combining voice dictation and ambient listening to automate clinical documentation for physicians and other clinicians.
April 2024: Walmart announced the closure of all 51 Walmart Health centres and its telehealth service, citing an unsustainable business model for its primary care operations.
September 2023: The Federal Trade Commission sued private equity firm Welsh Carson and US Anesthesia Partners, alleging a roll-up of Texas anaesthesia practices to raise prices.
May 2023: CVS Health completed its acquisition of Oak Street Health, a primary care provider for Medicare patients, for about USD 10.6 billion.
February 2023: Amazon completed its USD 3.9 billion acquisition of One Medical, a membership-based primary care provider with in-person and virtual services.

Considered in this report
• Historic Year: 2020
• Base Year: 2025
• Estimated Year: 2026
• Forecast Year: 2031

Aspects covered in this report
• Global Physician & Ambulatory Healthcare Services Market with its value and forecast along with its segments
• Various drivers and challenges
• Ongoing trends and developments
• Top profiled companies
• Strategic recommendation

By Service Setting
• Physician Offices and Medical Groups
• Ambulatory Surgery Centres
• Urgent Care Centres
• Retail Clinics
• Diagnostic Imaging Centres
• Community Health Centres
• Telehealth Services

By Care Type
• Primary Care
• Specialty Care
• Surgical and Procedural Care
• Behavioural Health
• Diagnostic Services

By Ownership
• Physician-Owned Practices
• Hospital and Health System-Owned
• Insurer and Corporate-Owned
• Private Equity-Backed Platforms
• Public and Government Clinics

By Payer
• Government Programmes
• Private Insurance
• Out-of-Pocket Payments