Massachusetts Physician Shortage Facts
Physician supply lags behind patient demand nationally and across Massachusetts. As supply falls, patients wait longer to see a doctor, and doctors burn out.
By 2030
The U.S. is projected to have 120,000 too few doctors nationally.
- Nearly 40% of American physicians will reach retirement age.
- The United States will face a shortage of over 120,000 physicians.
- 32.1% of Massachusetts physicians are within retirement range right now.
Massachusetts is projected to be short 725 doctors.
20,952 Massachusetts residents, physicians, and senior physicians were surveyed:
- 55% of Massachusetts physicians report experiencing burnout.
- 27% of Massachusetts physicians report intention to leave medicine by 2026.
11 of Massachusetts’s 14 counties are health professional shortage areas (HPSAs).
- Low-income citizens are disproportionately affected by these shortages.
- HPSA designations indicate areas where there are 3,500 or more patients for every one provider.
Ranked against other states, Massachusetts’s doctor-to-patient ratio is:
- 40% worse for family medicine and general practice
- 19% worse in pediatric cardiology
- 30% worse in pediatric hematology and oncology
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