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 |