Article Figures & Data
Figures
- Figure 1
Practice status of primary care physicians aged 50 to 90 years as reported in the 2014 American Medical Association Physician Masterfile.
Note: The “Other Activities” category includes physicians not in clinical practice but professionally active in other ways (for example, in teaching, administration, or research); the “Dropped” category is made up of physicians who were listed in earlier years of AMA Physician Masterfile data but absent from the 2014 dataset. Data are derived from the AMA Physician Masterfile datasets for the years 2009 through 2014.13
- Figure 2
Percentage of primary care physicians involved in direct patient care who had a National Provider Identifier number in 2008, by sex and age.
Data are derived from the AMA Physician Masterfile dataset for 2008 and from National Plan and Provider Enumeration System data for 2008.
- Figure 3
Percentage of primary care physicians remaining in practice, by age and sex.
- Figure 4
Median ages of retirement from clinical activity and from all professional activity for selected specialties, with interquartile ranges.
Tables
- Table 1
Median and Interquartile Range of Retirement Ages of Physicians from Either Direct Patient Care or Any Activity, By Specialty, Sex, and Practice Location, 2010–2013
Primary Care Physicians Family Physicians General Internists General Pediatricians N Median Age (IQR) N Median Age (IQR) N Median Age (IQR) N Median Age (IQR) Retirement from direct patient care All 298,254 64.9 (61.4–68.3) 94,511 65.1 (61.6–68.4) 114,822 65.6 (61.8–69.3) 63,305 65.7 (62.1–69.1) Sex Female 74,724 64.0 (60.8–67.3) 18,973 64.6 (61.2–67.9) 24,778 64.5 (61.0–68.0) 25,944 64.8 (61.5–68.0) Male 223,526 65.0 (61.5–68.4) 75,537 65.1 (61.6–68.4) 90,042 65.8 (62.0–69.4) 37,361 66.0 (62.4–69.4) Practice location Rural 41,099 65.2 (61.6–68.5) 20,248 65.3 (61.9–68.7) 11,430 66.3 (62.3–69.7) 4,698 66.0 (62.2–69.0) Urban 248,825 65.0 (61.4–68.5) 72,934 65.1 (61.6–68.5) 101,205 65.7 (61.9–69.4) 56,660 65.9 (62.2–69.3) Year 2010 71,078 64.7 (61.2–68.1) 21,723 64.9 (61.3–68.3) 27,181 65.4 (61.8–69.0) 15,204 65.4 (61.8–68.8) 2011 73,415 64.9 (61.4–68.3) 23,015 65.2 (61.7–68.6) 28,160 65.8 (62.0–69.3) 15,640 65.6 (62.1–69.0) 2012 75,774 65.1 (61.5–68.6) 24,298 65.3 (61.9–69.0) 29,279 65.8 (61.9–69.4) 16,017 66.0 (62.4–69.5) 2013 77,987 64.7 (61.2–68.2) 25,475 64.8 (61.5–68.0) 30,202 65.4 (61.5–69.2) 16,444 65.9 (62.2–69.2) Retirement from any activity All 398,483 66.1 (62.6–69.5) 132,450 66.7 (63.2–70.1) 154,189 67.0 (63.4–70.5) 79,962 66.6 (63.2–70.1) Sex Female 100,440 65.2 (61.9–68.5) 26,629 66.2 (62.7–69.8) 33,809 66.0 (62.5–69.5) 33,529 65.7 (62.4–69.0) Male 298,037 66.2 (62.7–69.6) 105,819 66.7 (63.2–70.1) 120,377 67.0 (63.5–70.5) 46,433 66.9 (63.4–70.3) Practice location Rural 52,824 66.4 (63.0–69.7) 27,054 67.0 (63.6–70.3) 14,420 67.4 (63.9–70.7) 5,640 66.8 (63.4–69.9) Urban 333,192 66.3 (62.7–69.7) 102,903 66.8 (63.3–70.3) 136,268 67.1 (63.4–70.6) 71,378 66.8 (63.3–70.3) Year 2010 93,855 65.8 (62.4–69.2) 30,308 66.5 (62.9–69.8) 35,852 66.6 (63.1–70.1) 19,041 66.4 (63.0–69.7) 2011 97,783 66.0 (62.6–69.4) 32,221 66.6 (63.1–69.9) 37,604 66.8 (63.3–70.5) 19,728 66.6 (63.2–70.1) 2012 101,459 66.3 (62.7–69.7) 34,043 66.9 (63.4–70.4) 39,442 67.1 (63.5–70.6) 20,299 66.8 (63.2–70.2) 2013 105,386 66.2 (62.7–69.7) 35,878 66.9 (63.4–70.3) 41,291 67.2 (63.5–70.5) 20,894 66.8 (63.2–70.3) IQR = interquartile range (25th–75th Percentile)
Note: Data are derived from the AMA Physician Masterfile datasets for the years 2010 through 2014.13
The Article in Brief
When Do Primary Care Physicians Retire? Implications for Workforce Projections
Stephen M. Petterson , and colleagues
Background Retirement of primary care physicians (PCPs) is becoming a matter of increasing concern in light of physician shortages. This study examines the ages at which the majority of PCPs retire and compares retirement ages across primary care specialties.
What This Study Found The average retirement age of about 65 years varies little by specialty, practice location, or gender. These findings suggest that changes in the composition of the primary care workforce will not have a remarkable impact on overall retirement rates in the near future. Females have a median retirement about one year earlier than males. There is no substantive difference in retirement ages between rural and urban primary care physicians.
Implications
- The authors suggest that strategies to lengthen careers, including quality-of-life accommodations such as a reduction in full-time work, weekend work, or on-call requirements, would be worthwhile for policymakers to explore.
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