the healthcare workforce lost 333,942 providers in 2021. The ongoing shortage of health professionals has put more pressure on physicians who remain in practice.
There is an average of 344 people per physician of all specialties, according to a report published Dec. 31, 2021, by the Association of American Medical Colleges, the most recent data available.
Here is a comparison of each specialty's caseload, ranked from highest caseload to lowest.
|
Specialty |
No. of active physicians |
Patients per physician |
|
Pulmonary medicine |
4,867 |
67,099 |
|
Allergy and immunology |
5,009 |
65,197 |
|
Rheumatology |
6,420 |
60,867 |
|
Plastic surgery |
7,228 |
45,181 |
|
Diabetes and endocrinology |
8,246 |
39,603 |
|
Otolaryngology |
9,616 |
33,961 |
|
Infectious diseases |
9,193 |
32,944 |
|
Urology |
10,081 |
32,395 |
|
Nephrology |
11,554 |
28,265 |
|
Pathology |
12,180 |
26,812 |
|
Dermatology |
12,767 |
25,579 |
|
Neurology |
5,748 |
23,574 |
|
Critical care |
14,159 |
23,064 |
|
Gastroenterology |
15,678 |
20,930 |
|
Oncology |
16,673 |
19,587 |
|
Orthopedics |
18,469 |
17,682 |
|
Ophthalmology |
18,948 |
17,235 |
|
Cardiology |
22,262 |
14,669 |
|
General surgery |
24,881 |
13,125 |
|
Radiology |
27,197 |
12,008 |
|
Psychiatry |
38,424 |
8,499 |
|
Anesthesiology |
42,264 |
7,727 |
|
Obstetrics and gynecology |
42,496 |
7,685 |
|
Emergency medicine |
46,857 |
6,969 |
|
Family medicine |
118,641 |
2,753 |
|
Internal medicine |
120,342 |
2,741 |
|
Pediatrics |
60,305 |
1,720 |