The gastroenterology workforce is entering a pivotal stretch as an aging physician base collides with rising patient demand, all the while access gaps widen and compensation pressures mount in the background.
Here are five trends to keep an eye on:
1. Large geographic access gaps persist across the GI workforce: More than two-thirds of U.S. counties do not have a practicing gastroenterologist, according to a Nov. 14 report from Medicus Healthcare Solutions.
The report found that about 7 million people live more than 50 miles from a GI specialist. Workforce constraints are also tightening recruitment, with healthcare organizations taking a median of 186 days to fill an open gastroenterologist position as demand continues to outpace available supply.
2. Compensation pressure and reimbursement cuts intensify financial strain: Between 2023 and 2024, average gastroenterologist pay declined 3% year over year, falling from $512,000 to $495,000, stirring financial pressure in the specialty despite rising demand.
Only 37% of gastroenterologists reported feeling fairly compensated in 2025, and about 32% said they took on extra work to supplement their income. At the same time, CMS reduced the physician fee conversion factor by 2.83% for 2025, further squeezing margins for GI groups already navigating rising labor and supply costs.
3. Workforce aging and consolidation influence GI practice models: Beyond current access challenges, the gastroenterology workforce faces mounting structural strain, with more than half of practicing gastroenterologists age 55 or older and long-term projections showing a shortage of nearly 1,400 physicians by 2037.
At the same time, private equity-backed GI groups have grown about 28% since 2021, accelerating consolidation across the specialty and raising questions about physician autonomy, retention and the future sustainability of independent practice.
4. Demographic pressure and burnout compound workforce strain: As of 2024, one in six Americans is age 65 or older, a share projected to rise to roughly one in four by 2035.
Gastroenterologists warn that growing demand for geriatric care, chronic disease management and oncology-related services may outpace physician supply. Simultaneously, administrative burden and rising patient volumes fuel burnout, which Sheldon Taub, MD, a gastroenterologist at Jupiter (Fla.) Medical Center, told Becker’s will play a “very important” role in shaping future workforce trends.
5. Ambient AI has emerged as a workforce pressure valve: Some gastroenterologists are finding that new technology can help offset staffing strain and rising demand. In Medscape’s 2025 Gastroenterology Practice Issues Report, 91% of respondents said they could add new patients without major “management headaches.”
Benjamin Levy, MD, a gastroenterologist at University of Chicago Medicine, said ambient AI is helping practices see more patients by reducing documentation fatigue.
“It is allowing us to see more patients in the day, because we’re less fatigued from all the typing,” he told Becker’s.
Still, workforce strain remains, with about one-third of physicians reporting high burnout and 48% saying burnout is hurting retention at their practice.
