Most independent practice owners still pitch candidates on salary and benefits, assuming clinicians make career decisions the same way they did twenty years ago.
Randi Spence knows that assumption is costing practices their best hires. She pitched opening a new clinic, grew it to five providers, and became a partner in the 22-location group.
During every hiring conversation this year, candidates asked the same questions: Does your practice use AI documentation? Will I take work home? How do you support work-life balance?
Documentation burden determines where new clinicians choose to work. Randi shows how AI adoption solves the hiring problem before it begins.
In the Spotlight 🔦
When Randi Spence was hiring for her clinic this year, work-life balance dominated every conversation. Candidates asked specific questions about documentation workflows, after-hours expectations, and whether the practice invested in AI tools.
Practices that force clinicians to complete notes during personal time signal they value throughput over wellbeing. New graduates see that and move on.
When U.S. Physical Therapy offered an AI documentation pilot, Randi knew it would determine whether her practice could compete for top talent.
Building Practices Where New Graduates Want to Work
Within two weeks of implementation, Randi stopped bringing work home. Her family noticed she was home for dinner without her laptop. The quality of her notes improved while her after-hours work disappeared.
Within a week of starting the pilot, another seasoned clinician asked to join. Shortly after, clinic directors across all 22 locations were asking how to implement the same tools.
Independent practices that resist technology modernization will lose the ability to recruit skilled clinicians. Candidates now evaluate whether practices invest in tools that support sustainable work alongside salary.
Randi positions technology adoption as part of her practice's identity rather than a feature. That positioning attracts clinicians who value their time and wellbeing.
AI Noise 🔊
From Indie’s Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder, Eric deRegt
A breakdown of what in the name of AI you should actually be paying attention to:
Economics, not excitement, drives healthcare AI adoption. Practices are using AI first for admin tasks like documentation, calls, and billing. This helps reduce workload without raising compliance risks. Tools that save time or money will succeed; everything else will stall.
Verdict: ✅ Worth paying attention to
Clinical Intelligence 💡
Sharp HealthCare reports 7.8% increase in wRVUs per patient encounter and 38% reduction in time spent on clinical notes among clinicians using Abridge ambient AI.
Epic announces more than 150 AI-enabled capabilities in development and over 300 health systems live with integrated AI features supporting clinical documentation.
Kearny is using AI-enabled clinical documentation to improve healthcare value across the board.
Indie Insider 🔎
Exclusive to the Practice Independence community
Building off of last year’s success, we’re hosting more Practice Independence dinners where we gather a small group of clinic owners to share insights on growth, scale, and preserving independence.
Are you located in Florida, Alabama or Georgia? We have an upcoming dinner we’d love for you to attend. Please fill out this questionnaire to share your interest.
Thanks for joining us for another edition of Practice Independence — we’ll see you in 2 weeks!
Take care, Indie
PS: Ready to revolutionize your practice? Talk to us.
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