From Becker’s Hospital Review
The number of independent physicians in U.S. rural areas declined 43% over five years — from 21,956 in January 2019 to 12,467 in January 2024 — according to an Avalere study sponsored by the Physicians Advocacy Institute.
The analysis — which used the IQVIA OneKey database containing physician and practice location information on hospital and health system ownership — shows a growing shift toward the consolidation of physician services under hospitals and corporate entities in rural areas following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Five things to know:
- From 2019 to 2024, rural areas lost nearly 2,500 physicians. This represents a 5% decline from approximately 52,600 to 50,100.
- Likewise, the number of medical practices in rural areas fell from 30,000 at the beginning of 2019 to 26,700 in January 2024, an 11% decline.
- This declining number of rural medical practices was particularly acute among independent practices, with the number of those practices falling by 7,300 during the study period, marking a 42% decline.
- Nearly 9,500 physicians in rural areas left independent practice during the study period. Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina and South Dakota saw declines of more than 50% within their independent physician workforce.
- During the same period, physician employment in rural areas within hospitals and health systems and corporate entities grew by 15% and 57%, respectively.
Click here to view the full analysis.