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Healthcare Insights

Average age of doctors and providers by medical specialty

Numerous factors contribute to the continued healthcare provider shortages including many medical professionals facing burnout and the aging provider workforce. Effects to patient care and service accessibility are just a couple of long-term impacts healthcare staffing shortages may have in the coming years.

What is the average age of a physician?

We analyzed more than 810,000 healthcare providers tracked in the Definitive Healthcare PhysicianView product with a reported birth year. The average age of these providers is 53.9 years old as of 2023. Data in this analysis is sourced from a number of sources including proprietary research, the NPI Registry, and Physician Compare.

In comparison, the median age of the U.S. labor force is 41.8 years old.

Knowing which specialties may face staffing pressures before others can help recruiting firms better place doctors where they are needed most. And understanding the demographic characteristics of a medical specialty can help life science organizations better reach certain audiences.

The following tables list the highest and lowest average ages, or the oldest and youngest doctors, by their medical specialty. Our analysis included nearly 820,000 providers across more than 110 medical specialties.

Medical specialties with the oldest doctor and provider age

RankMedical specialtyAverage ageNumber of providers with birth yearExplore dataset
1Cardiology - Cardiac Surgery591,194Explore
2Adult Medicine58131Explore
3General Practice582,102Explore
4Adolescent Medicine571,747Explore
5Psychology - Clinical Neuropsychologist57110Explore
6Radiology - Nuclear Medicine57601Explore
7Addiction Medicine57622Explore
8Occupational Medicine56636Explore
9Preventive Medicine56557Explore
10Surgery - Orthopedic Surgery5619,330Explore
11Surgery - Thoracic Surgery562,593Explore

Fig. 1. Data is from the Definitive Healthcare PhysicianView product and sourced from proprietary research, the NPI Registry and Physician Compare. Only specialties with at least 100 providers reporting a birth year are included. Accessed November 2023.

Which medical specialties have the oldest doctors and providers?

Cardiac surgeons have the highest average age at 59 years old, making it the specialty with the oldest doctors in this analysis. Adult medicine and general practice doctors have the second oldest average age at 58 years old each.

Medical specialties with the youngest doctor and provider age

RankMedical specialtyAverage ageNumber of providers with birth yearExplore dataset
1Hospitalist4426,485Explore
2Rehabilitation Medicine - Pediatric46114Explore
3Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine47255Explore
4Rheumatology - Pediatric47358Explore
5Sports Medicine471,680Explore
6Anesthesiology - Pediatric Anesthesiologist48521Explore
7Cardiology - Pediatric Cardiologist481,252Explore
8Critical Care (Intensivists)485,175Explore
9Critical Care (Intensivists) - Pediatric482,186Explore
10Emergency Medicine4847,771Explore
11Emergency Medicine - Pediatric482,363Explore
12Hospice and Palliative Care482,024Explore

Fig. 2 Data is from the Definitive Healthcare PhysicianView product and sourced from proprietary research, the NPI Registry, and Physician Compare. Only specialties with at least 100 providers reporting a birth year are included. Accessed November 2023.

Which medical specialties have the youngest doctors and providers?

Hospitalists are the youngest doctors in our analysis with an average age of 44 years old, the lowest on the list of specialties. Pediatric rehabilitation medicine providers have an average age of 46 years old, the second youngest on the list.

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Healthcare Insights are developed with healthcare commercial intelligence from the Definitive Healthcare platform. Want even more insights? Start a free trial now and get access to the latest healthcare commercial intelligence on hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare providers.