Season 1 • Episode 93

The Physician-Owned Practice That Private Equity Can't Buy With Dr. Bradley Block

Aug 27, 2026

35:16

Episode Description

Private equity has been buying up ENT and allergy practices at a fast clip. One group has stayed independent and grown into the largest player in its space anyway.

In this episode of How I Doctor, Offcall co-founder Dr. Graham Walker sits down with Dr. Bradley Block, an otolaryngologist and board member at ENT and Allergy Associates, the country's largest ENT, allergy, and audiology practice. Brad is also the voice behind Succeed in Medicine, a physician communication podcast he ran for years and hundreds of episodes before stepping away this spring.

The two start with why Brad built a podcast in the first place, a solo project born out of a long commute and a simple question: how were his partners seeing more patients per hour than he was without sacrificing the visit. From there the conversation turns to ENTA itself, a practice built on a contract every incoming physician can read on day one, one with a clear, no buy-in path to full equity partnership. That structure now spans roughly 170 partners, and Brad makes the case that scale, not resistance, is exactly what keeps private equity away. He also gets specific about what it costs to build a model like this: founding partners who sacrificed financially to create it, then retired with no buyout at all.

The conversation closes on where the real disadvantage lies for independent practices, not efficiency or leadership, but lobbying power on Capitol Hill, where large health systems can outspend independent groups on influencing the reimbursement rules everyone has to live by.

What You'll Learn

Why Brad built a physician communication podcast because the one he needed didn't exist
How ENTA's contract guarantees a clear, no buy-in path to full equity partnership for every incoming physician
Why a 170 partner structure is nearly impossible for private equity to acquire, and why Brad argues it wouldn't even help
What the founding partners gave up to create the model ENTA runs on today
The one question Brad tells physicians to ask before joining any practice, and why the leverage to ask it disappears the moment they sign

Resources and Where to Find Brad