Georgia physician assistant workforce : based on 2014-2015 licensure renewal data

Georgia Physician Assistant Workforce
Based on 2014 - 2015 Licensure Renewal Data
Georgia Board for Physician Workforce State of Georgia
Published February 2017

Acknowledgements
The report was produced under the direction of LaSharn Hughes, Executive Director, Andrea Pass, Data Analyst, Tommy Kelly, IT Support Specialist, Consultant G.E. Alan Dever, MD PhD and Audra Cochran, MD, Medical Intern.
The Board would like to thank the Georgia Composite Medical Board for providing physician assistant licensure renewal data. This document is provided to the Chairperson Mark G. Hanly, MD and the Georgia Board members on behalf of Executive Director
LaSharn Hughes.
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Executive Summary
The 2015 Physician assistant profile marks the 2nd year the Georgia Board for Physician Workforce (GBPW) has examined the supply and distribution of Georgia's physician assistants using data from license renewals. The physician assistants data are analyzed by the GBPW and the resulting information is reported on a biennial basis.
There were 3,597 licensed and practicing physician assistants in Georgia. There were 35.2 physician assistants per 100,000 population who were actively practicing in the state of Georgia. The top 3 practice settings for physician assistants are hospital-clinics 27.6%, solo physician practices 17.2% and multi-specialty physician
groups 15.4%. In Georgia, whites represented 81% of physicians assistants, blacks represented 11% and asians represented 5%. Hispanics represented 2.7% of the physician assistant population in Georgia. 1,066 physicians assistants are age 50 and above, of that number 15.2% reported they would retire in 5 years. Males represented 39% of physicians assistants in Georgia, while females represented 61%. The top three core specialties for physician assistants are family medicine 13.0%, emergency medicine 9.5% and internal medicine 6.0%. 22.5% of physician assistants practiced in the anesthesiologist specialty, 13% practice in the family medicine specialty and 9.5% practice in the
emergency medicine specialty. There are 30 counties in Georgia with no physician assistants, this represents 324,186 population. The top 3 ranked counties for physician assistants are Decatur 103.0, Tift 93.2 and Thomas 93.2 per 100,000. The bottom 3 ranked counties for physicians assistants are Madison 3.5, Jones 3.5 and Jackson 1.6 per 100,000. 83.9% of physician assistants reported they work fulltime, 16.1% reported they do not work fulltime. 1.9% of physician assistants reported they work for state government, 3.3% reported they work for county government.
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Methods
The survey consists of data for 2014 and 2015 for physician assistants (PAs) as reported by the Georgia Composite Medical Board. The survey is not mandatory to renew the license. Some physicians assistants choose to opt out of the survey. The Georgia Board for Physicians Workforce (GBPW) compiles, validates and analyzes data from the surveys to prepare a report on physician assistant characteristics, supply and demand.
Data Set Exclusions Physician assistants licensed but not practicing in Georgia
Data Set Inclusions Physician assistants licensed and practicing in Georgia
Count of Total Physician Assistants The count of total physician assistants methodology was used to determine how many physician assistants are practicing in the state of Georgia. One (1 ) License Number = One (1 ) Physician Assistant
Method: If a physician assistant reported that he/she worked in a primary county then he/she was counted as one (1) physician assistant.
If a physician assistant reported that he/she worked in one of the secondary counties but did not work in one of the primary counties then he/she was counted as one (1) physician assistant practicing in the secondary county.
The rate of physician assistants per 100,000 population was then calculated by County.
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Physician Assistants
Physician assistants (PAs) practice medicine with supervising physicians and work in all areas of medicine such as: family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology and surgery specialties.

Selected Characteristics of Physician Assistants
Table 1

2015 Median Pay

$98,180 per year

Typical Education

Masters degree

Number of Jobs

94,400 nationally

Job Outlook 2014 - 2024

30% growth nationally

Occupational Outlook Handbook-Physician Assistants 2015 (December 2017). Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/physician-assistants.htm on February 2, 2017.

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US Distribution of Physician Assistants by Number 2014
Map 1

*3,597

* Number of PAs in Georgia for 2014-2015.

National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. (2015). Retrieved from https://www.nccpa.net/news/2014StatisticalReport on February 2, 2017.

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Physician Assistants by Age Group and Retiring in 5 Years Georgia 2014 - 2015
Chart 1
The two highest age groups for physician assistants were less than 35 (22.6%) and age group 35-39 (18.3%).
29.6% of Georgia's physician assistants were age 50 and above, of that number 15.2% reported they would retire in 5 years.
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Chart 2

Physician Assistants by Race Georgia 2014 - 2015
In 2014 2015 whites represented 81% of the physician assistant population.
Blacks represented 11% of physician assistants.
Asians represented 5% of physician assistants.

Physician Assistants by Gender Chart 3 Georgia 2014 - 2015
In 2014 2015 61% of physicians assistants in Georgia were female, males represented 39%.
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Distribution of Physician Assistants by

Map 2

MSA and Non-MSA, Georgia 2014 - 2015

In the United States, a geographical area with relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties through the area is called a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). An area with low population density and little economic ties to surrounding areas is called a Non-Metropolitan Statistical Area (Non-MSA).
Table 2

Note: All MSAs are in color, the color is null for Non-MSAs.

Rate per 100,000 by MSA

0 1-10 11-19 20 - 30 30-82

12 Counties 18 Counties 16 Counties 13 Counties 15 Counties

Based on the renewal data the state of Georgia has 3,597 actively practicing physician assistants.
The rate for total physicians assistants is 35.2 per 100,000 population.
There are 12 counties in MSAs with no physician assistants. This represents a population of 146,931.

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Distribution of Core Specialties Physician Assistants by MSA and Non-MSA
Georgia 2014 - 2015

Table 3
Distribution of Core Specialties by MSA/Non-MSA Demographics, Georgia 2014 - 2015

Specialty
Pediatrics General Surgery Emergency Medicine Internal Medicine OB/GYN Family Medicine Totals

MSA
Physician Assistants 63 61 277 175 32 340 948

Percent 82.9% 82.4% 81.0% 80.6% 76.2% 73.0% 77.9%

Non-MSA
Physician Assisants 13 13 65 42 10 126 269

Percent 17.1% 17.6% 19.0% 19.4% 23.8%

Totals by Specialty
76 74 342 217 42

77.9% of physician assistants practiced in a MSA and 22.1% practiced in a Non-MSA.
The top 3 core specialties for physicians assistants practicing in a MSA pediatrics 82.9%, general surgery 82.4% and emergency medicine 81.0%.
The top 3 core specialties for physician assistants practicing in a Non-MSA were family medicine at 27.0%, ob/gyn 23.8% and internal medicine 19.4%.

27.0%

466

22.1%

1,217

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Chart 3

Chart 4

Chart 5

Physician Assistant Specialty Mix Georgia 2014 - 2015
The specialty mix for physician assistants in core specialties was 34%, in specialties outside of core specialties 41% and other 25%.
Physician Assistants by Core Specialties Georgia 2014 2015
The top three core specialties for physician assistants were family medicine 13.0%, emergency medicine 9.5% and internal medicine 6.0%.
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Physician Assistants by Practice Setting Georgia 2014 - 2015

Table 4

Practice Setting

Hospital-Clinic Solo physician practice Multi-specialty physician group Hospital-University Physician practice management organization Community Health Center College/University HMO Nursing home or LTC facility Home Health Agency Other Totals

Number

Percent

994 620 555 459
76 71 28 14 12
5 763 3597

27.6% 17.2% 15.4% 12.8%
2.1% 2.0% 0.8% 0.4% 0.3% 0.1% 21.2% 100.0%
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Physician Assistants by Top 5 Practice Settings Georgia 2014 - 2015
Chart 6
The top 5 practice settings for physician assistants were hospital-clinics, solo physician practice, multi-specialty physician groups, hospital-universities and other.
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Distribution of Physician Assistants by Practice Setting and Core Specialty, Number and Percent
Georgia 2014 - 2015

Table 5
Core Specialty and Percent Family Medicine Percent Internal Medicine Percent Pediatrics Percent OB/GYN Percent Emergency Medicine Percent General Surgery Percent Totals Percent

Hospital-Clinic
49 17.8%
32 11.6%
8 2.9%
7 2.5% 161 58.5% 18 6.5% 275 100.0%

Solo Physician Practice
159 56.4%
61 21.6%
30 10.6%
19 6.7%
7 2.5%
6 2.1% 282 100.0%

Multi-Specialty Physician Group
70 44.3%
39 24.7%
11 7.0%
3 1.9%
6 3.8% 29 18.4% 158 100.0%

Hospital University
4 4.4%
18 19.8%
5 5.5%
0 0.0%
59 64.8%
5 5.5%
91 100.0%

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Chart 7

Physician Assistants Fulltime Status Georgia 2014 - 2015
83.9% of physician assistants worked fulltime, 16.1% reported they did not work fulltime.
In Rural Georgia 228 physician assistants reported they work fulltime, 39 reported they do not work fulltime.
In Non-Rural Georgia 2791 physician assistants reported they work fulltime, 539 reported they do not work fulltime.

Physician Assistants Employed by the State or County

Chart 8

Georgia 2014 - 2015

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Map 3

Physician Assistants by County

Georgia 2014 - 2015

There are 35.2 physicians assistants per 100,000 population in Georgia.

Legend
Non-Rural with PAs
*Rural with PAs
*Rural No PAs
*Rural represents population of 35,000 or less

Top 3 Counties by Rank

County Decatur
Tift Thomas

Physician Assistants
28 38 42

Pop 27,174 40,764 45,063

Rate 103.0 93.2 93.2

Rank 1 2 3

Bottom 3 Counties by Rank

County Madison
Jones Jackson

Physician Assistants
1 1 1

Pop 28,441 28,494 63,360

Rate 3.5 3.5 1.6

Rank 127 128 129

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Georgia County Name Georgia Appling Atkinson Bacon Baker Baldwin Banks Barrow Bartow Ben Hill Berrien Bibb Bleckley Brantley Brooks Bryan Bulloch Burke Butts Calhoun Camden Candler Carroll Catoosa Charlton Chatham Chattahoochee Chattooga Cherokee Clarke Clay Clayton Clinch Cobb Coffee Colquitt Columbia Cook Coweta Crawford

Table 6 - Georgia Physician Assistants by County

Total

Primary Care Physician

2015

Rate per

Service Area Assistants Population 100,000

-

3,597 10,214,860

35.2

91

1

18,454

5.4

88

3

8,398

35.7

90

1

11,299

8.9

76

0

3,180

0.0

47

8

45,459

17.6

10

1

18,495

5.4

27

3

75,370

4.0

17

12

102,747

11.7

87

1

17,403

5.7

85

8

18,963

42.2

46

102

153,721

66.4

63

1

12,243

8.2

93

1

18,455

5.4

81

4

15,658

25.5

52

5

35,137

14.2

53

16

72,651

22.0

50

1

22,745

4.4

37

3

23,593

12.7

76

3

6,479

46.3

96

14

52,102

26.9

55

4

10,886

36.7

19

19

114,545

16.6

1

11

66,050

16.7

95

2

12,965

15.4

52

207

286,956

72.1

43

7

11,368

61.6

18

2

24,922

8.0

15

39

235,900

16.5

27

70

123,912

56.5

76

0

3,141

0.0

39

39

273,955

14.2

83

3

6,893

43.5

21

292

741,334

39.4

88

13

43,108

30.2

78

8

45,844

17.5

31

33

144,052

22.9

80

1

17,124

5.8

41

35

138,427

25.3

46

0

12,388

0.0

Rank -
117 30
100 130
66 119 125
89 113
22 9
102 118
43 79 54 124 83 18 40 27 71 70 75
8 10 103 72 14 130 78 21 25 32 67 51 112 44 130

Georgia Physician Assistants by County

Total

Georgia Primary Care Physician

2015

Rate per

County Name Service Area Assistants Population 100,000

Rank

Crisp

65

3

22,881

13.1

82

Dade

1

2

16,264

12.3

85

Dawson

11

4

23,312

17.2

69

Decatur

73

28

27,174 103.0

1

DeKalb

23

339

734,871

46.1

19

Dodge

62

4

20,882

19.2

60

Dooly

66

0

14,035

0.0

130

Dougherty

76

55

91,332

60.2

12

Douglas

20

10

140,733

7.1

107

Early

71

4

10,575

37.8

26

Echols

82

1

4,040

24.8

46

Effingham

52

4

57,106

7.0

108

Elbert

29

1

19,364

5.2

120

Emanuel

57

6

22,708

26.4

41

Evans

56

5

10,787

46.4

17

Fannin

4

2

24,303

8.2

101

Fayette

40

67

110,714

60.5

11

Floyd

18

71

96,504

73.6

7

Forsyth

13

62

212,438

29.2

36

Franklin

9

2

22,311

9.0

98

Fulton

22

799

1,010,562

79.1

5

Gilmer

3

3

29,400

10.2

94

Glascock

32

0

3,065

0.0

130

Glynn

93

30

83,579

35.9

28

Gordon

16

17

56,574

30.0

34

Grady

74

2

25,205

7.9

104

Greene

34

2

16,710

12.0

87

Gwinnett

25

215

895,823

24.0

48

Habersham

10

8

43,996

18.2

65

Hall

11

111

193,535

57.4

13

Hancock

33

2

8,551

23.4

50

Haralson

19

5

28,854

17.3

68

Harris

43

2

33,381

6.0

110

Hart

28

0

25,534

0.0

130

Heard

42

0

11,539

0.0

130

Henry

38

47

217,739

21.6

55

Houston

67

24

150,033

16.0

74

Irwin

86

0

9,245

0.0

130

Jackson

27

Jasper

36

1

63,360

1.6

129

2

13,635

14.7

77

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Table 6 cont'd. - Georgia Physician Assistants by County

Total

Georgia Primary Care Physician

2015

Rate per

County Name Service Area Assistants Population 100,000

Jeff Davis

89

1

14,920

6.7

Jefferson

49

5

16,106

31.0

Jenkins

54

0

8,957

0.0

Johnson

48

2

9,656

20.7

Jones

46

1

28,494

3.5

Lamar

44

1

18,201

5.5

Lanier

84

1

10,312

9.7

Laurens

60

13

47,731

27.2

Lee

76

4

29,202

13.7

Liberty

52

16

62,467

25.6

Lincoln

31

0

7,673

0.0

Long

92

0

17,731

0.0

Lowndes

82

34

112,865

30.1

Lumpkin

12

7

31,408

22.3

Macon

66

1

13,632

7.3

Madison

27

1

28,441

3.5

Marion

43

0

8,761

0.0

McDuffie

32

4

21,540

18.6

Mcintosh

93

1

13,969

7.2

Meriwether

42

0

21,190

0.0

Miller

72

3

5,854

51.2

Mitchell

76

2

22,574

8.9

Monroe

45

4

27,103

14.8

Montgomery

58

1

8,951

11.2

Morgan

27

1

18,046

5.5

Murray

2

2

39,565

5.1

Muscogee

43

102

200,579

50.9

Newton

36

11

105,473

10.4

Oconee

27

9

35,965

25.0

Oglethorpe

27

0

14,871

0.0

Paulding

21

15

152,238

9.9

Peach

46

1

26,720

3.7

Pickens

14

9

30,309

29.7

Pierce

94

0

19,103

0.0

Pike

37

2

17,941

11.1

Polk

18

2

41,524

4.8

Pulaski

64

0

11,396

0.0

Putnam

35

3

21,353

14.0

Quitman

70

0

2,302

0.0

Rabun

7

4

16,281

24.6

Rank 109 31 130 56 128 116 97 39 81 42 130 130 33 53 105 127 130 62 106 130 15 99 76 91 115 121 16 93 45 130 96 126 35 130 92 122 130 80 130 47

Georgia Physician Assistants by County

Total

Georgia County Primary Care Physician

2015

Rate per

Name Service Area Assistants Population 100,000 Rank

Randolph

70

2

7,193

27.8

38

Richmond

31

165

201,793

81.8

4

Rockdale

24

20

88,856

22.5

52

Schley

68

1

5,168

19.3

59

Screven

51

0

14,162

0.0

130

Seminole

72

0

8,647

0.0

130

Spalding

37

18

64,051

28.1

37

Stephens

8

3

25,586

11.7

88

Stewart

69

0

5,851

0.0

130

Sumter

68

5

30,779

16.2

73

Talbot

43

0

6,337

0.0

130

Taliaferro

30

0

1,639

0.0

130

Tattnall

56

10

25,229

39.6

24

Taylor

46

0

8,330

0.0

130

Telfair

61

3

16,400

18.3

64

Terrell

76

0

9,113

0.0

130

Thomas

75

42

45,063

93.2

3

Tift

79

38

40,764

93.2

2

Toombs

58

12

27,241

44.1

20

Towns

6

4

11,182

35.8

29

Treutlen

60

0

6,785

0.0

130

Troup

42

14

69,763

20.1

58

Turner

79

1

8,214

12.2

86

Twiggs

46

0

8,390

0.0

130

Union

5

9

22,267

40.4

23

Upson

44

5

26,368

19.0

61

Walker

1

4

68,066

5.9

111

Walton

26

5

88,399

5.7

114

Ware

94

27

35,370

76.3

6

Warren

32

1

5,460

18.3

63

Washington

48

1

20,816

4.8

123

Wayne

92

7

29,534

23.7

49

Webster

69

0

2,648

0.0

130

Wheeler

59

1

7,903

12.7

84

White

11

0

28,319

0.0

130

Whitfield

2

21

104,216

20.2

57

Wilcox

64

1

8,857

11.3

90

Wilkes

30

Wilkinson

46

1

9,867

10.1

95

0

9,155

0.0

130

18

Worth

77

0

20,699

0.0

130

The 2015 Physician Assistant document can be viewed and downloaded on the internet at gbpw.georgia.gov. The Georgia Board for Physician Workforce welcomes comments and suggestions for future editions of this report. Please send comments to gbpw@dch.ga.gov.
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