The Medical Specialist Shortage by the Numbers

The total number of physician jobs nationwide is expected to increase 15 percent between 2016 and 2026. An acute shortage of primary care physicians has been forecast for years, with the deficit predicted to be in the tens of thousands. Several recent studies suggest an equal or greater demand for specialists.

Hospital budgets are already under extreme pressure, and salaries rise with demand. That means it’s more important than ever to accurately predict and prepare for future conditions in the U.S. medical labor market. First, we will take a look at the medical specialties currently in the greatest demand.

Medical Specialties in the Greatest Demand

The list below shows the increase in job postings year over year for different medical specialties. The data comes from Doximity, the largest medical social network in the country. More than 70 percent of all U.S. physicians are members. The study looked at 12,000 physician job advertisements in 20 large U.S. metropolitan areas from the years 2016 and 2017.  

1. Geriatrics, 164 percent
2. Urology, 49 percent
3. Oncology, 45 percent
4. Hematology, 39 percent
5. Obstetrics and gynecology, 31 percent
6. Gastroenterology, 27 percent
7. Occupational medicine, 26 percent
8. Endocrinology, 25 percent
9. Neurosurgery, 25 percent
10. Cardiology, 23 percent

Specialists now account for 74 percent of recruiting assignments

Specialists are becoming more and more of a commodity. Another study of 3,045 physician and advanced practitioner recruiting assignments, conducted between April 2017 through March 2018, found hospitals and medical groups shifting their recruiting focus toward specialists. According to the report, we could find ourselves with a specialist shortage as high as 73,000 by the year 2030. 77% of counties in the United States already report a “severe shortage” of psychiatrists.

Though there remains a shortage of primary care doctors, searches for primary care physicians actually dropped 19 percent over the last year. Over the past three years it has dropped 32 percent. One possible cause is the rising prevalence of nurse practitioners and physician assistants at urgent care centers and retail clinics.

To continue providing quality care and to remain competitive, hospitals and health systems can’t leave any money on the table. That’s why they trust MedCom Solutions.  

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