The rate of physicians exiting clinical practice is increasing, and some specialties have higher attrition rates than others, according to research published Oct. 7 in Annals of Internal Medicine.
In a study examining the attrition rate of approximately 72,000 physicians caring for Medicare beneficiaries between 2013 and 2019, researchers found the unadjusted rates of attrition increased from 3.5% in 2013 to 4.9% in 2019.
Compared to a hospital-based specialty, physicians at greater risk for attrition were those practicing in psychiatry, primary care, and obstetrics and gynecology, according to an American College of Physicians news release about the study.
Female physicians, those practicing in a rural area and those practicing outside of the Northeast region were also associated with a high attrition rate.
Attrition rates — as defined by a physician exiting clinical practice without reentry for at least three years — grew among male and female physicians, those in urban and rural areas, those ages 35 and older, and across all geographic locations and six broad specialty categories.
The specialty groups included in the analysis were primary care, medical specialty, surgical specialty, obstetrics and gynecology, hospital-based specialty and psychiatry.
A similar study published Oct. 1 in the American Journal of Roentgenology examined the attrition rate among radiologists, finding an increase in attrition rates from 1.1% in 2014 to 2.5% in 2022.
