Traditionally, medical group practices have relied upon their administrators to supply leadership and innovation. In recent years, however, with the growth of large multispecialty groups, the role of the physician in management has taken on an increased presence and importance. To gain an understanding of the role of physician managers in medical group practices, a questionnaire was developed and sent to 104 large multispecialty groups. Three major hypotheses were tested based on the 84 valid questionnaires returned.