Health Workforce

Minnesota Physicians Facts and Data 2004

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.

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

In January 2005, there were 12,600 physicians currently licensed with Minnesota addresses. Some are retired or not working as doctors and some may practice in other states. Overall, the Board of Medical Practices received 16,329 license renewals during 2004. Nearly 3,800 had addresses outside Minnesota.

The Office of Rural Health & Primary Care received survey responses from 13,656 physicians during 2004. At the time of license renewal, 9,336 of these said they were working at least part time at a primary practice site in Minnesota.

The exact number of physicians practicing in Minnesota is not known. Survey respondents represented 84 percent of all physicians renewing licenses in 2004. Based on this percentage, the Office of Rural Health & Primary Care estimates approximately 11,100 physicians working at least part time in Minnesota. Using the July 1, 2004 population estimate for Minnesota, this amounts to 218 active physicians per 100,000 people.

Because of different data sources and definitions, this estimate of 218 active physicians is not directly comparable to other reported data. The Bureau of Health Professions in the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration reported that Minnesota had 194 active patient care physicians per 100,000 people in 2000, just below the national ratio of 198. Minnesota had 76 active primary care physicians per 100,000 people, exceeding the national ratio of 69.

Using data from the American Medical Association, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that Minnesota had 263 licensed physicians per 100,000 people in 2002, compared to a national rate of 256. These figures include all licensed physicians, whether actively practicing in the state or not.

All data reported below is for physicians who work at least part time at a primary practice site in Minnesota.

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• Geographic distribution of primary practice site

Primary Practice Sites by County

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• Age and gender of physicians active in Minnesota 2004

	Male	Female
All physicians	71.6%	28.4%
Under 35	52.7%	47.4%
35-44	61.8%	38.2%
45-54	73.2%	26.8%
55-64	87.3%	12.7%
65 and older	94.5%	5.5%
Urban locations	70.3%	29.7%
Rural locations	76.5%	23.5%

• Age of physicians active in Minnesota, by location, 2004

Age	Statewide n=9,336	Urban n=7,450	Rural n=1,886
Less than 35	10.7%	11.1%	9%
35-44	30.1%	30%	30.3%
45-54	34%	33.8%	34.7%
55-64	18.7%	18.5%	19.7%
65 and older	6.5%	6.5%	6.4%
Total	100%	100%	100%

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• Physician Specialties (in MS Excel)

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• Physicians active in Minnesota, by primary practice settings, 2004

Practice Setting	All Physicians	Urban	Rural
N	9,336	7,450	1,886
Office/Clinic	72.1%	70%	83.4%
Teaching hospital	17.5%	21.3%	2.3%
Other hospitals	6.9%	5.7%	11.6%
Laboratory	.9%	.9%	.5%
Medical school	1.3%	1.7%	.1%
Emergency room	3.2%	2.8%	4.8%
Nursing home	.3%	.3%	.3%
Hospice	*	*	*
Treatment facility	.3%	.2%	.6%
Other	1.6%	1.7%	1.1%

Percentages add to more than 100 percent because some respondents indicated more than one kind of primary practice site. *less than .1 percent.

Gender of physicians active in Minnesota, by practice settings, 2004

Practice Setting	Male	Female	N
Office/clinic	70.1%	29%	6,788
Teaching hospital	73.7%	26.2%	1,629
Other hospitals	78.4%	21.6%	640
Laboratory	73.4%	26.6%	79
Medical school	80%	20%	125
Emergency room	77.4%	22.6%	296
Nursing home	70.4%	29.6%	27
Hospice	**	**	1
Treatment facility	78.6%	21.4%	28
Other	69.4%	30.6%	147
All settings	6,680	2,651	9,336