There are approximately 885,000 physicians in the US, with only 91,000 being general practitioners. Many believe there is a shortage of primary care physicians. Becoming a doctor has become less attractive due to rising costs and lower compensation. Women make up less than half of all physicians, and minorities are underrepresented.
From the 2004 census statistics from the United States Department of Labor and the American Medical Association, there are approximately 885,000 (884,974) physicians in the United States. This represents about 0.29% of the population or a third of 1%. There is approximately one doctor for every 300 people in the United States.
However, not all doctors see all people. Only about 91,000 are general practitioners. This constitutes only 0.03% of the total population, or one thirtieth of 1%. Many physicians believe that the number of primary care physicians is inadequate for the American population. They argue that the number of primary care physicians must nearly double to meet the needs of Americans.
Unfortunately, there are many who are now hesitant to consider becoming a doctor because incomes have not kept pace with inflation and educational expenditures. For example, malpractice insurance is now much higher than it was 20 years ago given the rising costs of lawsuits. In addition, the costs of education have risen and it means that the average medical student may have incurred over 100,000 US dollars (USD) in student loan debt before starting work.
Another concern is that compensation for doctors taking Medicare is now significantly less than what the average patient would be charged. Additionally, insurance companies also play a role by incurring low medical bills. Many physicians believe that the way to adequately address this issue and make compensation predictable and consistent is through a universal health program. Others argue that there are too many downsides to a government-run health program and point to maladministration and lack of compensation from current health programs like Medicare.
These arguments and the falling economic value of being a doctor often seem like too much of a hassle for potential new doctors. Physicians may instead choose to specialize, which tends to provide better compensation, or many students opt out of healthcare altogether.
Breakdown by gender, women still make up less than half of all physicians. Even in obstetrics and gynecology, where many women prefer a female doctor, there are still more males than females. The only specialty that currently has more females than males is pediatrics, and the numbers are nearly even, with only 3,000 more pediatricians than male pediatricians.
Races other than Caucasians are significantly underrepresented. Caucasians represent 47.8% of all physicians. Black doctors make up just 2.3% and Hispanics about 3.2%. The largest minority percentage are Asians, at 8.3% of all physicians.
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