Health Workforce

Minnesota Physicians Facts and Data 2003

The Office of Rural Health & Primary Care asks physicians to answer questions about their employment status and the nature of their practices each year when they renew their licenses. Response is voluntary and does not affect license renewal. About 90 percent of the physicians complete the survey.

NOTE: In the tables below, “urban” is defined to include seven Twin City metropolitan counties (Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington) and the cities of Duluth, Rochester and St. Cloud.

• Number of licensed physicians practicing in Minnesota

As of January 2005, there were 12,600 currently licensed physicians with Minnesota addresses. Some of these were retired or not working as doctors. Physicians working at least part time at a Minnesota practice site accounted for 9,428 survey responses in 2003. Based on a 90 percent response rate, the Office of Rural Health & Primary Care estimates about 10,470 physicians practicing in Minnesota. This amounts to about 206 practicing physicians per 100,000 population. Using data from the American Medical Association, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that Minnesota had 263 licensed physicians per 100,000 population in 2002, compared to a national rate of 256. The Census Bureau figures include all licensed physicians, whether actively practicing in the state or not.

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• Geographic distribution of primary practice site

Table by county – comma delimited file
Map by county - physician to population ratio

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• Age and gender of Minnesota licensed physicians 2003

	Male	Female
All physicians	72.3%	27.7%
Under 35	53.4%	36.7%
35-44	63.1%	36.9%
45-54	74.3%	25.7%
55-64	87.9%	12.1%
65 and older	96.1%	3.9%
Urban locations	71.0%	29.0%
Rural locations	77.3%	22.7%

• Age of Minnesota licensed physicians by location 2003

Age	Statewide n=9,427	Urban n=7,283	Rural n=2144
Less than 35	11.2%	11.7%	9.4%
35-44	30.9%	30.7%	31.8%
45-54	34.0%	34.0%	33.7%
55-64	17.4%	17.1%	18.5%
65 and older	6.5%	6.5%	6.7%
Total	100%	100%	100%

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• Specialty distribution – comma delimited file

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• Primary practice settings of Minnesota licensed physicians 2003

Practice Setting	Urban	Rural
Office/Clinic	67.8%	80.7%
Teaching Hospital	20.3%	2.1%
Other Hospitals	4.9%	9%
Laboratory	1%	.6%
Medical school	1.4%	.1%
Emergency room	2.6%	5.5%
Nursing home	.2%	.4%
Hospice	.1%	0%
Treatment facility	.1%	.8%
Other	1.6%	.9%
N	7,521	1,907

Gender of Minnesota licensed physicians in primary practice settings 2003

Practice Setting	Male	Female	N
Office/clinic	70.6%	29.4%	6,667
Teaching hospital	74.1%	25.9%	1,554
Other hospitals	83.3%	16.7%	514
Laboratory	72%	28%	82
Medical school	76.2%	23.8%	105
Emergency room	79.2%	20.8%	312
Nursing home	71.4%	28.6%	21
Hospice	100%	0%	4
Treatment facility	60.9%	39.1%	23
Other	74.8%	25.2%	143
All settings	72.3%	27.7%	9,425