Healthcare Insights
A comprehensive list of medical specialties and subspecialties
Medical specialties are classifications for providers based on professional medical board certifications. Board-certified specialties enable physicians to articulate their expertise and professionalism while making it easier for healthcare organizations to target staffing prospects—and giving consumers and patients insight into the competence of the person responsible for their treatment.
However, board certification doesn’t always entirely capture the scope of a provider’s practice. Plus, self-reported specialty information can be unreliable or become outdated. That’s why the Definitive Healthcare platform delivers both self-reported specialty information along a proprietary claims-based model that uses artificial intelligence, procedure claims, and distinct reference and affiliation data points to accurately determine specialties.
Definitive Healthcare tracks 46 distinct specialty categories and 128 subspecialty categories within our platform. Below, we’ve compiled lists of medical specialties and subspecialties to demonstrate the breadth of expertise across the healthcare landscape.
| Rank | Specialty | % of provider analyzed | Explore dataset |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nurse | 14.1% | Explore |
| 2 | Therapy | 7.6% | Explore |
| 3 | Physician Assistant | 6.1% | Explore |
| 4 | Internal Medicine | 4.5% | Explore |
| 5 | Social Worker | 4.5% | Explore |
| 6 | Family Practice | 4.5% | Explore |
| 7 | Anesthesiology | 4.20% | Explore |
| 8 | Surgery | 3.40% | Explore |
| 9 | Psychology | 3.2% | Explore |
| 10 | Pediatric Medicine | 2.4% | Explore |
| 11 | Emergency Medicine | 2.3% | Explore |
| 12 | Chiropractic | 2.2% | Explore |
| 13 | Optometry | 1.9% | Explore |
| 14 | Psychiatry | 1.8% | Explore |
| 15 | Obstetrics/Gynecology | 1.6% | Explore |
| 16 | Radiology | 1.6% | Explore |
| 17 | Hospitalist | 1.2% | Explore |
| 18 | Cardiology | 1.2% | Explore |
| 19 | Neurology | 0.8% | Explore |
| 20 | Gastroenterology | 0.7% | Explore |
Fig. 1 – Analysis of primary medical specialties from the Definitive Healthcare PhysicianView product. Data sourced from NPI Registry and Physician Compare for May 2024. Provider count derived using claims-based specialty model.
What are the top medical specialties?
Nursing is the top medical specialty, representing 14.1% of all healthcare professionals tracked in our database. In second place is Therapy, accounting for 7.6% of all healthcare professionals. Physician Assistant is the third most common specialty, with 6.1% of the total provider workforce.
For more information on medical specialties and how they have evolved, check out our Healthcare Insights on the future of the physician market and the specialties with the most growth potential.
| Rank | Subspecialty | % of provider analyzed | Explore dataset |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nurse Practitioner | 13.7% | Explore |
| 2 | Physical Therapist | 5.2% | Explore |
| 3 | Licensed Clinical Social Worker | 4.5% | Explore |
| 4 | Clinical Psychologist | 3.1% | Explore |
| 5 | Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist | 2.3% | Explore |
| 6 | Anesthesiologist | 1.8% | Explore |
| 7 | Diagnostic Radiology | 1.3% | Explore |
| 8 | Occupational Therapist | 1.3% | Explore |
| 9 | General Surgery | 1.1% | Explore |
| 10 | Speech Language Pathologist | 1.0% | Explore |
| 11 | Orthopedic Surgery | 1.0% | Explore |
| 12 | Cardiologist | 0.9% | Explore |
| 13 | Hematology/Oncology | 0.4% | Explore |
| 14 | Certified Nurse Midwife | 0.4% | Explore |
| 15 | Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery | 0.3% | Explore |
| 16 | Neurosurgery | 0.2% | Explore |
| 17 | Radiation Oncology | 0.2% | Explore |
| 18 | Perinatal Medicine | 0.2% | Explore |
| 19 | Medical Oncology | 0.2% | Explore |
| 20 | Interventional Cardiology | 0.2% | Explore |
Fig. 2 – Analysis of medical subspecialties from the Definitive Healthcare PhysicianView product. Data sourced from NPI Registry and Physician Compare for May 2024. Provider count derived using claims-based specialty model.
What are the top medical subspecialties?
Nurse practitioner is the most prevalent medical subspecialty, representing 13.7% of all healthcare professionals within our database. Nurse practitioners are nurses who leverage advanced clinical education to perform many of the same duties as physicians.
Physical therapists take second place on our list, accounting for 5.2% of the workforce. Physical therapists specialize in improving a person's ability to move and function daily. They work with a wide range of patients, from newborns to older adults.
In third place is the licensed clinical social worker category with 8.45% of total healthcare professionals. Social workers help individuals and families navigate and treat mental, behavioral, and emotional problems, usually through therapy or counseling.
The importance of NPI when determining medical specialties
When a healthcare provider registers for a National Provider Identifier (NPI) number, they select a classification that reflects their specialization and education. For example, a provider may choose the Family Practice classification. NPI numbers and medical specialties are self-reported, which means they can be outdated or no longer relevant to what a provider is doing today.
Acknowledging that this can happen is important when making strategic decisions regarding medical specialties and subspecialties, as NPI is what we use to calculate and determine the number of healthcare professionals in a given category.
If you’re interested in tracking specific provider behaviors, it’s critical to also look at medical and prescription claims histories, as that information is a more up-to-date and precise reflection of the clinical activity a provider performs.
For more information, check out our Healthcare Insight analyzing taxonomy versus claims-based specialties.
Benefits of using NPI target lists
NPI target lists are curated databases containing information about healthcare professionals. For healthcare marketers and salespeople, NPI target lists are treasure troves of valuable information, offering insights into provider preferences, behaviors, affiliations, and more. All this information can be leveraged to tailor your advertising efforts effectively.
How are medical specialties and subspecialties structured?
In our PhysicianView product, subspecialties are categorized within specialties based on their function. Subspecialties matching their parent specialty name are excluded here.
- Addiction Medicine
- Adolescent Medicine
- Adult Medicine
- Aerospace Medicine
- Allergy/Immunology
- Allergy/Immunology - Pediatric
- Anesthesiology
- Anesthesiologist
- Anesthesiologist Assistant
- Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist
- Pediatric Anesthesiologist
- Audiology
- Cardiology
- Cardiology - Cardiac Electrophysiology
- Cardiology - Cardiac Surgery
- Cardiology - Cardiologist
- Cardiology - Interventional Cardiology
- Cardiology - Pediatric Cardiologist
- Cardiology - Peripheral Vascular Disease
- Chiropractic
- Clinical Social Worker
- Critical Care (Intensivists)
- Critical Care - Pediatrics
- Dentistry
- Dentist
- Dentist – General Practice
- Dental Hygienist
- Dermatology
- Diet/Nutrition
- Electrodiagnostic medicine
- Emergency Medicine
- Emergency Medicine - Pediatric
- Endocrinology
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Reproductive Endocrinology
- Family Practice
- Gastroenterology
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Geriatric Medicine
- Hematology
- Home Health Aide
- Hospice and Palliative Care
- Hospitalist
- Infectious Disease
- Pediatric Infectious Disease
- Internal Medicine
- Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
- Nephrology
- Nephrology – Pediatric
- Neurology
- Nurse
- Nurse - Certified Clinical Nurse Specialist
- Nurse - Certified Nurse Midwife
- Nurse - Massage Therapist
- Nurse - Nurse Practitioner
- Obstetrics/Gynecology
- Obstetrics/Gynecology - Maternal & Fetal Medicine
- Occupational Medicine
- Oncology
- Gynecological Oncology
- Hematology/Oncology
- Medical Oncology
- Pediatric Oncology
- Ophthalmology
- Optometry
- Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine
- Otolaryngology
- Pediatric Otolaryngology
- Pain Management
- Interventional Pain Management
- Pathology
- Clinical Pathology
- Cytopathology
- Forensic Pathology
- Pediatric Dentistry
- Pediatric Medicine
- Pediatric Medicine – Developmental & Behavioral
- Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
- Physician Assistant
- Podiatry
- Preventive Medicine
- Psychiatry
- Addiction Psychiatry
- Forensic Psychiatry
- Geriatric Psychiatry
- Neuropsychiatry
- Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Clinical Neuropsychology
- Psychosomatic Medicine
- Pulmonology
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Radiology
- Diagnostic Radiology
- Interventional Radiology
- Neuroradiology
- Nuclear Medicine
- Pediatric Radiology
- Radiation Oncology
- Therapeutic Radiology
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Rheumatology
- Rheumatology - Pediatric
- Sleep Medicine
- Social Work
- Social Worker - Licensed Clinical Social Worker
- Social Worker - Licensed Graduate Social Worker
- Sports Medicine
- Surgery
- Surgery - Colorectal Surgery (formerly proctology)
- Surgery - Foot and Ankle
- Surgery - General Surgery
- Surgery - Hand Surgery
- Surgery - Maxillofacial Surgery
- Surgery - Neurosurgery
- Surgery - Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
- Surgery - Oral Surgery (dentists only)
- Surgery - Orthopedic Spine Surgery
- Surgery - Orthopedic Surgery
- Surgery - Otolaryngology/Facial Plastic Surgery
- Surgery - Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery
- Surgery - Pediatric Surgery
- Surgery - Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
- Surgery - Surgical Oncology
- Surgery - Thoracic Surgery
- Surgery - Trauma
- Surgery - Vascular Surgery
- Surgery-Oral Surgery
- Therapist
- Therapy
- Therapy - Massage Therapist
- Therapy - Occupational Therapist
- Therapy - Occupational Therapy Assistant
- Therapy - Physical Therapist
- Therapy - Speech Language Pathologist
- Urology
- Pediatric Urology
Learn more
Healthcare Insights are developed with healthcare commercial intelligence from the Definitive Healthcare platform. Want even more insights into medical specialties? Start a free trial
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