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Reevaluation of the US Pathologist Workforce Size.
Stanley J Robboy1, David Gross2, Jason Y Park3,4
1Department of Pathology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina.
JAMA Network Open
|July 17, 2020
Summary
Current estimates of the US pathologist workforce are inaccurate due to inconsistent reporting methods. A comprehensive review revealed significant discrepancies in physician counts across various data sources, highlighting the need for standardized reporting.
Area of Science:
- Medical Workforce Analysis
- Physician Workforce Statistics
- Health Services Research
Background:
- There is no single authoritative source for US pathologist workforce data.
- Accurate physician numbers are crucial for healthcare planning and resource allocation.
- Existing estimates show significant divergency across published resources.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the accuracy of current US pathologist workforce estimates.
- To identify reasons for discrepancies in published workforce data.
- To inform future methodologies for workforce assessment.
Main Methods:
- Examined American Board of Pathology classifications for specialties and subspecialties.
- Analyzed data from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), College of American Pathologists (CAP), and American Medical Association (AMA) Physician Masterfile.
- Compared workforce numbers and categorization across different data sources.
Main Results:
- The AMA Physician Masterfile (June 2019) listed 21,292 active pathologists, including 15 subspecialties.
- AAMC data (2017/2018) reported 12,839 pathologists in only 3 general categories and 1 subspecialty.
- Discrepancies arise from incomplete categorization and misclassification of subspecialists (e.g., dermatopathology, molecular genetic pathology).
Conclusions:
- Most sources report incomplete pathologist workforce data, focusing on select categories.
- The subspecialization of medicine contributes to reporting inconsistencies.
- Revised methodologies are needed for accurate determination of the pathologist workforce and other medical workforces.
