Density of medical doctors (per 10,000 population) (2009-2018): 25.9
Density of nursing and midwifery personnel (per 10,000 population) (2009-2018): 85.5
Density of dentists (per 10,000 population) (2009-2018): 6.1
Density of pharmacists (per 10,000 population) (2009-2018): 10.5

Source: World health statistics 2019: monitoring health for the SDGs, sustainable development goals. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2019. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.

Professionally Active Primary Care Physicians in the US by Field (March 2019):
 • Internal Medicine: 197,506
 • Family Medicine/General Practice: 139,407
 • Pediatrics: 87,637
 • Obstetrics & Gynecology: 53,913
 • Geriatrics: 1,393
 • Total: 479,856

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation. Professionally Active Primary Care Physicians by Field. Timeframe: March 2019. Last accessed Nov. 2, 2019.

Professionally Active Specialist Physicians In the US by Field (March 2019):
 • Psychiatry: 54,935
 • Surgery: 53,002
 • Anesthesiology: 50,121
 • Emergency Medicine: 55,671
 • Radiology: 47,828
 • Cardiology: 32,640
 • Oncology: 20,473
 • Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism: 8,046
 • All Other Specialties: 202,723
 • Total: 525,439

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation. Professionally Active Specialist Physicians In the US By Field. Timeframe: March 2019. Last accessed Nov. 2, 2019.

“The United States has had a disproportionate number of specialist physicians compared to primary care physicians (PCPs) for many years. Between 1965 and 1992 the 65% increase in physicians was almost entirely in specialist areas (Bodenheimer & Pham (2010). The growth in specialists has since slowed, but that of general primary care physicians has not increased significantly.

“Between 2005 and 2015 the physician to population ratio of general primary care (family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics, gynaecology and pediatrics) remained relatively stable, that of primary care subspecialties (of general primary care specialties listed above) increased 33%, and that of non-primary care specialties increased 52% (CDC, 2017a). In 2015 general primary care physicians were 37% of the physician workforce, primary care subspecialists were 11%, and non-primary care specialists comprised the remaining 52%. Compare those proportions of physicians to the percentage of office visits to these providers: in 2015, 47 % of office visits were to PCPs while 40% were to specialists (Frost & Hargraves, 2018). Community health centres in particular have severe shortages of PCPs, reporting vacancy rates of 25% for family physicians (NACHC, 2016). A 2018 report estimated that in 2016 a shortage of 13 800 PCPs existed, with the shortfall expected to increase to 14 ,800 (25th percentile) to 49 300 (75th percentile) by 2030 (AAMC, 2018). In contrast there were no to small shortfalls of various types of specialist in 2016. The shortfall of specialists is expected to grow, but to still be less than that of PCPs in 2030.”

Source: Rice T, Rosenau P, Unruh LY, Barnes AJ, van Ginneken E. United States of America: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2020; 22(4): pp. i–441.

“• We continue to project that physician demand will grow faster than supply, leading to a projected total physician shortfall of between 46,900 and 121,900 physicians by 2032 (Exhibit ES-1). This projected shortfall range reflects updates to model inputs including updated population projections, revised starting demand and supply projections, updated estimates of physician specialty choice, larger starting-year shortfall estimates based on recently revised federal health professional shortage area (HPSA) designations for primary care and mental health, and lower projections of future insurance coverage expansion. The projected range is similar to the previous (2018) study’s projected shortfall range for 2030 of between 42,600 and 121,300 physicians.

” o A primary care physician shortage of 21,100 to 55,200 physicians is projected by 2032. The shortfall range reflects the projected rapid growth in the supply of APRNs and PAs and their role in care delivery, trends that might strengthen the nation’s primary care foundation and improve access to preventive care, and an estimate by the Health Resources and Services Administration that nearly 14,472 primary care physicians are needed to remove the primary care shortage designation from all currently designated shortage areas.

” o Projected shortfalls in non-primary care specialty categories of 24,800 to 65,800 physicians, including a 14,300 to 23,400 shortfall in 2032 for surgical specialties. The range reflects different assumptions about shifting workforce patterns for physicians and other professionals. In the surgical specialties, a largely stagnant projected supply also contributes to projected shortages.”

Source: Dall TM, Jones K, Chakrabarti R, Reynolds R, Iacobucci W. 2019 Update, The Complexities of Physician Supply and Demand: Projections from 2017 to 2032. Washington, DC: Association of American Medical Colleges; 2019.

“Some workforce analysts question whether there is an overall shortage of physicians, or whether instead, the shortages are mostly in underserved areas (Salsberg, 2015). According to these analyses, assessments of shortages should take maldistributions into consideration, as well as additions to the primary care workforce supply (greater utilization of NPs and PAs), and lowering of demand through improvements in care coordination, technologies and other efficiencies in the delivery system.

“Although nurse practitioners (NPs) and PAs have been filling in some of the gaps in primary care (in 2012 NPs comprised 20% of primary care providers in the United States (Poghosyan et al., 2013)), there is evidence that the primary–specialty physician imbalance is affecting access to primary care, especially in light of the increase in demand due to the ACA. In two simulations (2013 and 2016), median wait times for new patients in primary care were over a week in most states, and some wait times were over 30 days (Rhodes et al., 2014; Polsky et al., 2017). Wait times increased slightly between 2013 and 2016. In 2015, 48% of people in the United States who were sick could not obtain a same-day or a next-day appointment (Mossialos et al., 2015). Studies have also reported low-income patients having increased difficulty in obtaining primary care visits in Medicaid expansion states (Miller & Wherry, 2017).”

Source: Rice T, Rosenau P, Unruh LY, Barnes AJ, van Ginneken E. United States of America: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2020; 22(4): pp. i–441.

“Because healthcare is a complex set of services provided in a variety of settings, it is not surprising that the human resources needed to provide these services are also varied and complex. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) categorizes healthcare personnel into two main categories: ‘healthcare practitioners and technical occupations’ and ‘healthcare support occupations’ (BLS, 2018a, 2018b). The first category is further divided into practitioners with diagnostic and treatment capabilities, and healthcare technologists and technicians. The practitioners with diagnostic and treatment capabilities include chiropractors, dentists, optometrists, pharmacists, physicians, physician assistants, podiatrists and registered nurses (RNs), as well as a large grouping of therapists such as occupational, physical, respiratory, speech, language and others. In providing their specialized care these therapists consult and practise with other health professionals. The subcategory of technologists and technicians includes clinical laboratory technologists and technicians, dental hygienists, licensed practical (vocational) nurses (LPNs) and medical record technicians. The distinction between technologist and technician involves the level of education, which is longer for technologists, and work roles, which are more complex and analytical for technologists. In addition, technologists may supervise the work of technicians. The category of healthcare support occupations includes several types of aides (nursing, psychiatric and home health) and dental assistants.”

Source: Rice T, Rosenau P, Unruh LY, Barnes AJ, van Ginneken E. United States of America: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2020; 22(4): pp. i–441.

“Physician assistants and nurse practitioners are more prevalent in rural and underserved areas, which have fewer primary care physicians (2,3,10). The findings—that the supply of primary care physicians increased as office locations became more urban, whereas the inclusion of physician assistants or nurse practitioners in primary care physician practices increased as office locations became less urban—are consistent with previous studies (2–4,10,11). State variation in the availability of physician assistants or nurse practitioners in primary care physician practices may also depend on the presence of integrated health care delivery systems, such as group health maintenance organizations, which include physician assistants and nurse practitioners more often than other physician practices (11). Our study found that physicians in multispecialty group practices had physician assistants or nurse practitioners in their practices more often than did single-specialty group practices or small (solo or partner) practices. Other factors, such as state variation in scope-of-practice laws for physician assistants and nurse practitioners and insurance payment policies, also affect the availability of physician assistants and nurse practitioners in physician practices (2–4,10,11).”

Source: Hing E, Hsiao CJ. State variability in supply of office-based primary care providers: United States, 2012. NCHS data brief, no 151. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2014.

” • Demographics — specifically, population growth and aging — continue to be the primary driver of increasing demand from 2017 to 2032. During this period, the U.S. population is projected to grow by 10.3%, from about 326 million to 359 million. The population under age 18 is projected to grow by only 3.5%, while the population aged 65 and over is projected to grow by 48.0%. Because seniors have much higher per capita consumption of health care than younger populations, the percentage growth in demand for services used by seniors is projected to be much higher than the percentage growth in demand for pediatric services.

” • Achieving population health goals will raise demand for physicians in the long term. This scenario models the implications for physician demand associated with achieving select population health goals like reducing excess body weight; improving control of blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose levels; and reducing smoking prevalence. Under this scenario, the longevity associated with improved population health would result in greater demand for services by 2032. The demand for physicians would thus be 33,900 FTEs higher in 2032 relative to demand levels in the absence of achieving these goals. Although prevention efforts likely will reduce demand for some specialties, like endocrinology, demand for other specialties, like geriatric medicine, will increase.”

Source: Dall TM, Jones K, Chakrabarti R, Reynolds R, Iacobucci W. 2019 Update, The Complexities of Physician Supply and Demand: Projections from 2017 to 2032. Washington, DC: Association of American Medical Colleges; 2019.

Health Systems Facts is a project of the Real Reporting Foundation. We provide reliable statistics and other data from authoritative sources regarding health systems in the US and several other nations.

Page last updated March 24, 2021 by Doug McVay, Editor.