Statistics & Facts on U.S. Physicians/Doctors

In 2013, there were over one million doctors of medicine all over the United States. This figure included some 148,000 inactive and some 44,000 unclassified physicians. The U.S. has a less marked physician density compared to some other countries. Looking at individual U.S. states, Washington D.C., Massachusetts and Maryland have the highest number of physicians per civilian population. Among specialists, psychiatrists are the most prevalent physicians. Approximately one quarter of all active U.S. physicians were educated abroad.


Expenditure for physician and clinical services stood at some 600 billion U.S. dollars in 2014. Thus, such services accounted for one fifth of total U.S. healthcare spending. The largest proportion of costs for these services was paid via private health insurances, followed by Medicare payments.

Compensation for physicians is always a controversial issue, especially in times of economic crisis and growing health costs. Orthopedics and plastic surgeons include the highest-earning physicians. With some 489,000 and 440,000 U.S. dollars respectively, these specialists have the highest average annual compensation for patient care. The highest-paid physicians live in the north central part of the U.S., where the mean compensation stood at some 317,000 U.S. dollars as of early 2017.

In the U.S., a generalist physician receives more than 3,500 annual visits, while a specialist receives around 2,700 visits. According to a survey, the most frequently mentioned amount of time spent with each patient is within the range of 13 to 16 minutes. 70 percent of all general physicians provide more than 31 hours of direct patient care per week, and 40 percent have evening and weekend working hours. For specialists, these figures stand at 61 and 19 percent respectively. In general, the level of satisfaction of U.S. Americans with their physicians is very high.

This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.

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Total number of doctors of medicine in the U.S. in 2013

1,045,910

Leading U.S. state based on the total number of active physicians

California
Overview
Total number of doctors of medicine in the U.S. in 2013 1,045,910 Total number of active doctors of medicine in the U.S. in 2013 854,698 Active doctors of medicine in patient care in the U.S. in 2013 809,845 Active physicians per 10,000 civilian population in 2013 29.4 Physicians in patient care per 10,000 civilian population in the U.S. in 2013 27.6 Number of active physicians in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism in 2017 7,254 Number of doctor visits in South Korea per year per capita 14.9
U.S. States
Leading U.S. state based on the total number of active physicians California Top U.S. state by number of active physicians per 10,000 civilian population District of Columbia
Medical Malpractice
Number of U.S. medical malpractice payments in 2015 9,043 Value of medical malpractice payments in the U.S. in 2015 3.45bn USD Medical malpractice payments as a percentage of overall health care costs in 2013 0.11%
Miscellaneous
Percentage of U.S. adults who have a family physician or primary care doctor as of 2012 78% Percentage of total medical practices with 101 or more physicians in 2016 19.9% Percentage of U.S. physicians that say their workload is at capacity or overextended in 2016 81% Percentage of private physicians that believe they are not being properly compensated for their time because of health care reform as of 2015 86%
Financial
Physician and clinical expenditures in 2015 634.9bn USD Annual compensation earned by orthopedic physicians as of 2016 489,000 USD Top state for annual compensation of physicians as of 2016 North Dakota Annual compensation for female specialist physicians as of 2016 242,000 USD Work relative value units per urologist in the U.S. 7,649
Patients
Percentage of patients that were "very satisfied" with their most recent visit to a physician as of 2015 53% Percentage of doctors that spend 25 minutes or more with their female patients as of 2016 15%

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Overview
Total number of doctors of medicine in the U.S. in 2013 1,045,910 Total number of active doctors of medicine in the U.S. in 2013 854,698 Active doctors of medicine in patient care in the U.S. in 2013 809,845 Active physicians per 10,000 civilian population in 2013 29.4 Physicians in patient care per 10,000 civilian population in the U.S. in 2013 27.6 Number of active physicians in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism in 2017 7,254 Number of doctor visits in South Korea per year per capita 14.9
U.S. States
Leading U.S. state based on the total number of active physicians California Top U.S. state by number of active physicians per 10,000 civilian population District of Columbia
Medical Malpractice
Number of U.S. medical malpractice payments in 2015 9,043 Value of medical malpractice payments in the U.S. in 2015 3.45bn USD Medical malpractice payments as a percentage of overall health care costs in 2013 0.11%
Miscellaneous
Percentage of U.S. adults who have a family physician or primary care doctor as of 2012 78% Percentage of total medical practices with 101 or more physicians in 2016 19.9% Percentage of U.S. physicians that say their workload is at capacity or overextended in 2016 81% Percentage of private physicians that believe they are not being properly compensated for their time because of health care reform as of 2015 86%
Financial
Physician and clinical expenditures in 2015 634.9bn USD Annual compensation earned by orthopedic physicians as of 2016 489,000 USD Top state for annual compensation of physicians as of 2016 North Dakota Annual compensation for female specialist physicians as of 2016 242,000 USD Work relative value units per urologist in the U.S. 7,649
Patients
Percentage of patients that were "very satisfied" with their most recent visit to a physician as of 2015 53% Percentage of doctors that spend 25 minutes or more with their female patients as of 2016 15%

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