Healthcare Insights
Number of physician group practices by state
Physicians have a lot of decisions to make when considering where they want to practice medicine. These include the type of practice and its geographic location.
Physician groups offer a range of benefits for both patients and providers. Many physician group practices offer a one-stop-shop model, meaning patients can receive many different types of care in a single, convenient location. Operating out of a physician group can also help individual physicians increase their income, reduce burnout, expand their access to patients, and more.
Using PhysicianGroupView, we found the number of physician group practices in each state.
Number of active physician group practices in the U.S.
Fig. 1: Data is from Definitive Healthcare’s PhysicianGroupView. The number of practices represents only those listed as “active” in our database as of December 2022. Accessed December 2022.
How many physician group practices are there in the U.S.?
According to our database, there are 199,989 currently active physician group practices across the U.S. as of December 2022. It’s important to note that a physician group may practice out of several different locations. Doing so helps physicians remain competitive in the market while giving them access to a larger pool of patients.
The top five states with the most physician group practices are:
| Rank | State | # of Physician group practices | Explore dataset |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida | 17308 | Explore |
| 2 | California | 16220 | Explore |
| 3 | Texas | 14140 | Explore |
| 4 | New York | 12172 | Explore |
| 5 | Illinois | 9851 | Explore |
And the five states with the least number of practices are:
| Rank | State | # of Physician group practices | Explore dataset |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Dakota | 358 | Explore |
| 2 | Wyoming | 366 | Explore |
| 3 | Vermont | 373 | Explore |
| 4 | District of Columbia | 410 | Explore |
| 5 | Alaska | 492 | Explore |
What is the largest physician group in the U.S.?
Select Physical Therapy (Definitive ID 7013) is the largest currently active physician group in the country, with 1,847 locations.
What is the difference between a solo practice and a group practice?
There are a few different types of medical practice settings at which a healthcare worker may be employed at.
A solo practice—as the name implies—is an office with only one physician. According to the American College of Physicians (ACP), these locations are characterized by their small staff and limited patient base. While the physician has the opportunity to develop close relationships with staff and patients and grow the practice how they like, the sole burden of running the practice rests on them. In addition to delivering medical care, the physician is responsible for making agreements with insurers and documenting that that practice is in compliance with federal laws and regulations.
A group practice, in contrast, has two or more physicians providing care in an office. Group practices may be further divided into single-specialty or multispecialty, which is determined by whether the physicians provide one specific type of care or various types. The ACP states that the increased number of physicians in the group offers greater flexibility than a solo practice, as more people are available to work nights and weekends. The administrative burden of running a practice may also be spread among the physicians.
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