Total US Physician Count at Almost 1 Million According to Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation data, there were a total of 990,688 “professionally active” physicians in the US as of October 2018, which is a 3.9% increase of 36,993 from 2016’s total of 953,695. Of that 990,688, 47.7% were primary care physicians, or 472,560, and the remaining 52.3%, or 518,128, were specialists. Male physicians totaled 644,297, or 65.0%; female physicians, 345,304, or 34.9%; and “unspecified,” 1,087, or 0.01%. The top 5 specialty physicians’ fields as of March 2018 were psychiatry, 53,678; surgery, 51,927; anesthesiology, 49,170; emergency medicine, 53,018; and, radiology, 46,965.

Inside Today’s Physician Practice According to The Physicians Foundation’s 2018 Survey of America’s Physicians, the largest group of respondents, or 31.4%, said they were a practice owner, partner or associate, which is a decrease from the 2016 survey, or 32.7%. Of the remaining respondents 19.1% were employed by a hospital; 17.4%, employed by a hospital-owned medical group; 12.6%, employed by a physician-owned medical group; and 19.5%, other. The largest percentage, or 23.3%, of physicians said they were in a practice of 2–5 physicians; followed by solo practice, 17.9%; 11–30 physicians, 16.6%; 101 or more physicians, 16.4%; 6–10 physicians, 14.7%; and 31–100 physicians, 11.1%.

Barriers to Delivery of Better Healthcare Creates Pessimistic Outlook According to the 2018 Great American Physician Survey, 38% of the responding physicians said government and third-party regulations was the largest barrier to providing good healthcare to their patients. In The Physicians Foundation’s 2018 Survey of America’s Physicians, 6.2% were very positive/optimistic about the future of the medical profession, with another 32.2% somewhat positive/optimistic while 61.6% were somewhat or very negative/pessimistic. Despite the large percentage who were negative/pessimistic, 72.6% still considered medicine a rewarding profession, a slight increase from 2016’s 71.7%.

More Physicians Needed Amid Significant Burnout The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation reported that as of end of 2017, just 48.66% of the need for primary care physicians had been fulfilled in the US, or what is known as Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs). To achieve 100% HPSA fulfillment in the US would require an additional 14,741 primary care physicians. Indiana has achieved a 78.37% HPSA fulfillment, the largest of all US states, while Missouri has only achieved 16.99% fulfillment. According to the Medscape National Physician Burnout & Depression Report 2018, 42% of respondents said they were experiencing burnout, and female physicians exceeded male physicians, at 48% and 38%, respectively.

Physicians and Patients Struggle to Improve Healthcare The Patient-Provider Relationship Study from Solutionreach found 43% of Millennials, 44% of Gen Xers and 20% of Baby Boomers are likely to switch physicians during the 2017–2020 period because of wait times, communications and convenience. The largest percentage (40.0%) of physicians responding to The Physicians Foundation’s 2018 Survey of America’s Physicians said they see an average of 11– 20 patients per day, with 27.6% seeing an average of 21–30 patients per day. Physicians also reported 51.70% of “many” and 31.44% of “some” of their patients are affected by a social situation (poverty, employment, lack of education, drug addiction, etc.) that is a barrier to improving their health.

The Use of Mobile Devices Is Critical to Practice Efficiency With mobile communications important to consumers, 75.9% of physicians use mobile devices in their practices, according to the Physician Practice 2018 Mobile Health Survey, and 50% of physicians said they spend 0–5 hours/week on mobile devices. Somewhat surprisingly, 79% of patients in all three major generations (Millennial, Gen X and Baby Boomers) said they would like to receive text messages from their physician, especially appointment reminders, according to the Solutionreach report. In the Physician Practice 2018 Mobile Health Survey, most physicians said they use an iPhone, or 48.9%; followed by Android phone, 23.9%; iPad, 13.6%; other tablet, 8%; other smartphone, 2.3%; and other device, 3.3%.

Advertising Strategies With large practices of 30 or more physicians more likely to receive value from traditional advertising channels, their biggest brand-building challenge is to reflect a personalized, human approach to healthcare delivery and avoid the appearance of a “factory” operation. Physicians may find it advantageous to co-advertise with health food stores and organic grocers to promote better food choices as the best health strategy. Physicians can distribute literature and coupons to patients and physicians can appear in stores’ advertising. Three of patients’ biggest complaints are rudeness, inadequate time with their physician and being scolded for their medical conditions. Physicians should address these issues proactively, and then use their efforts as branding messages in their advertising.

New Media Strategies Digital media, especially short videos as social media posts, offer physicians an opportunity to share some of their personal life (interests, hobbies, etc.) to create a more personal connection with patients. Physicians may be able to improve their satisfaction with their profession/practice by participating in more social and community events and organizations, and promoting those events/organizations at their practices and sharing their involvement on social media. To attract more Millennial-age patients and minimize those who switch physicians, physicians must be easily found in local search, respond to reviews within a day or two and provide easy scheduling via mobile devices – and then promote these services.