2023 US Physician Office Market Report

Table of Contents

• Executive Summary
• Physician Office Market Overview  
• Physician Visit Volumes Expected To Increase Through 2029   
• More Than Half Of All U.S. Physicians Are Specialists    
• Specialists Continue To Out Earn Primary Care Physicians   
• Top Medical Group Specialties  And Companies  
• Physicians Medical Groups Experience Record Number Of Acquisitions  
• COVID-19 Drove Physicians Out Of Private Practices  
• Artificial Intelligence Is Expected To Transform Physician Care Delivery 
• Use Of Telehealth Visits Tripled In 2022  
• Physicians Face Medicare Cuts Despite Inflation   
• Over One Million Clinicians Received  Additional MACRA Payments In 2022 Payment Year   
• Almost Half Of Physician Job Changes Are Attributed To Burnout  
• Nurse Practitioners Help Bridge Physician Shortage 
• Retail Health Clinics Expanding Healthcare Services 
• Urgent Care Growth Is Expected To Continue Past 2023   
• Urgent Care Patient Volumes Exceed Pre-Pandemic Levels 
• Community Health Centers Help To Close Primary Care Gap   
• Clarivate Lists Top Physician Office Products Sold Through Distribution 

Samples

Executive Summary

Market At-A-Glance

The physician and clinical services market is projected to reach $1.4 trillion by 2030. In 2022, spendingon physician services is 20.1% of all U.S. healthcare spending. Private health insurance is the largest payer for physician services at 38% of the payer mix. The industry remains dominated by specialty care. In 2022, there is an estimated 300,000 specialty physician offices and 150,000 primary care offices.

Primary Care Provider Shortage Worsened By Wage Gap

Primary care physicians (PCP) earn 42% less than specialists, a contributor to the primary care provider shortage. In 2022, only 46% of practicing physicians are primary care physicians. PCP turnover leads to roughly $979 million in additional healthcare expenditures for public and private payers each year.  In 2022, nurse practitioners (NP) and physician assistants (PA) have full practice authority in 26 states, the District of Columbia, and two U.S. territories. By 2026, the NP profession is projected to grow by 36%. NPs and PAs with full practice authority could reduce the primary care provider shortage by 70%.

Physician Visit Levels Increase Following Pandemic Decline

Nearly 55% of physician offices in 2022 reported exceeding their patient visit volumes of 2021. In 2022, patient visits have rose to one billion from 900 million in 2021. The overall percentage of patient visits declined in 2020 due to the pandemic and have since rose roughly 10%, with the projection to continue to increase in 2023. 

Virtual And In-Person Hybrid Model Expands Physician Services

Sixty-three percent of physicians who used telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic plan to move forward with both virtual and in-person visits in 2022. Patient expectations and regulatory requirements are fueling technology and physician office upgrades. Telehealth continues to play an essential role, with many providers planning to move forward with a hybrid use of virtual and in-person visits a well as remote patient monitoring (RPM) to reach more patients and achieve health equity. 

Data Information Sharing Mandate Goes Into Effect October 2022

Only 36% of office-based physicians can access patient data from other institutions. On October 6, 2022 the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) Interoperability Rule went into effect requiring healthcare providers to share all electronic health information for patients to easily share medical histories with other providers. Providers failing to comply may not be able to participate in Medicare or face financial penalties.