Rates of attrition up for male and female physicians, in rural and urban settings, across specialties, across geographic regions
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Oct. 9, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Since 2013, there has been an increase in the rate of physician attrition from clinical practice, according to a study published online Oct. 7 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Lisa S. Rotenstein, M.D., from the University of California at San Francisco, and colleagues characterized the rates of physician attrition from clinical practice and described the factors associated with a differential likelihood of attrition in a nationwide, longitudinal study. The analyses included 712,395 physicians (70.8 percent male; 90.8 percent in urban settings) who provided care to Medicare patients between 2013 and 2022.
The researchers observed a significant increase in the unadjusted rates of clinical practice attrition, from 3.5 percent in 2013 to 4.9 percent in 2019. Across the study period, the rates of attrition increased for both male and female physicians, in rural and urban settings, across specialties, across geographic regions, and in all groups of physicians aged 35 years or older. The likelihood of leaving clinical practice was increased for female physicians and those practicing in rural areas in adjusted models. Associations with attrition were also seen for caring for Medicare beneficiaries with a greater average risk score, a older average age, and a greater percentage of dual-eligible beneficiaries.
“In the setting of known threats to patient access to physician care, these findings have implications for workforce planning and the design of interventions to sustain the physician workforce,” the authors write.
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