Healthcare Insights
Top 20 physician executives by medical specialty
In addition to providing patient care in a variety of settings, many physicians are also industry experts in their field of specialty. Some physicians even move into executive and administrative positions at hospitals, healthcare systems, and physician groups, where they frequently become influential healthcare leaders.
The Definitive Healthcare HospitalView and PhysicianView products track facilities and providers across the U.S. healthcare landscape. Profiles of both physicians and hospital executives highlight the executive positions that a physician may hold. For example, the chief medical information officer (CMIO) at a healthcare system may also serve as an emergency medicine doctor at one of the hospitals in the system.
In this Healthcare Insight, we review physician executives to analyze their most common medical specialties. Understanding these nuances of an executive’s or a physician’s background helps to recruit for hard-to-fill positions or target the most influential leaders in a specific therapy area.
| Rank | Primary specialty | Percent of physician executives | Explore dataset |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chiropractic | 10.10% | Explore |
| 2 | Family Practice | 9.60% | Explore |
| 3 | Internal Medicine | 9.00% | Explore |
| 4 | Optometry | 4.90% | Explore |
| 5 | Therapy - Physical Therapist | 4.40% | Explore |
| 6 | Obstetrics/Gynecology | 3.40% | Explore |
| 7 | Ophthalmology | 3.10% | Explore |
| 8 | Pediatric Medicine | 3.00% | Explore |
| 9 | Surgery - Orthopedic Surgery | 2.60% | Explore |
| 10 | Other | 2.50% | Explore |
| 11 | Emergency Medicine | 2.40% | Explore |
| 12 | Nurse - Nurse Practitioner | 2.20% | Explore |
| 13 | Nephrology | 2.20% | Explore |
| 14 | Psychiatry | 2.20% | Explore |
| 15 | Podiatry | 2.20% | Explore |
| 16 | Dermatology | 2.10% | Explore |
| 17 | Surgery - General Surgery | 2.10% | Explore |
| 18 | Anesthesiology - Anesthesiologist | 2.10% | Explore |
| 19 | Cardiology - Cardiologist | 2.10% | Explore |
| 20 | Psychology - Clinical Psychologist | 1.90% | Explore |
Fig. 1. Data is from the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView and PhysicianView products and sourced from proprietary research, the October 2022 Medicare Cost Report release, the NPI Registry and Physician Compare. Data accessed November 2022.
Which medical specialties have the most physician executives?
Based on our analysis of more than 147,000 physician executives, the most common medical specialties for physician executives are chiropractic, family medicine, and internal medicine.
Family and internal medicine physicians are some of the most common medical specialties for U.S. providers, as well as some of the most popular specialties selected by medical school graduates. Chiropractors are the 11th most popular physician specialty.
What hospital positions do physician executives hold?
The most common titles for hospital and healthcare system leaders who are also physicians include:
- Chief Medical Officer
- Medical Director
- Board Member
- Emergency Department Director
- Director of Anesthesiology
- Chief of Staff
- Director of Oncology
- Director of Cardiology
- Operating Room Officer
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