PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - David Loxterkamp TI - The Dream of Home Ownership AID - 10.1370/afm.978 DP - 2009 May 01 TA - The Annals of Family Medicine PG - 264--266 VI - 7 IP - 3 4099 - http://www.annfammed.org/content/7/3/264.short 4100 - http://www.annfammed.org/content/7/3/264.full SO - Ann Fam Med2009 May 01; 7 AB - Part of the American Dream involves home ownership and its claim to a stronger investment in one’s family, neighborhood, and community. The medical version of that dream is called private practice. Almost overnight, it seems, we have awakened to the reality that most primary care physicians are now employed by large corporations or hospital networks. What does this mean for our patients and the practice of medicine? Did patients lose a sense of ownership when insurance companies began to speak on their behalf? Have boutique practices, Internet sales, and online information banks restored their control? This essay explores the fundamental question, “Does ownership matter?” and suggests what we all can do to retrieve paradise lost.