Georgia physician assistant workforce : based on 2016-2017 licensure renewal data

Georgia Physician Assistant Workforce
Based on 2016 - 2017 Licensure Renewal Data
Georgia Board for Physician Workforce State of Georgia
Published December 2018

Acknowledgements
The report was produced under the direction of LaSharn Hughes, MBA, Executive Director; Andrea Pass, MBA, Analyst; G.E. Alan Dever, MD PhD, Consultant; Jocelyn Hart, Administrative Assistant III; Tommy Kelly, Systems Administrator.
The Board would like to thank the Georgia Composite Medical Board for providing physician assistant licensure renewal data. This document is provided to the Georgia Board members on behalf of Executive Director LaSharn Hughes.
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Executive Summary
The 2017 Physician Assistant profile marks the 3rd 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 3,811 licensed and practicing physician assistants in Georgia. There were 36.5 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 28.9%, college/universities 20.0% and multi-specialty physician groups
16.7%. In Georgia, whites represented 80% of physician assistants, blacks represented 11% and asians represented 5%. 968 (25.4%) physician assistants are age 50 and above, of that number 4.6% reported they would retire in 5 years. Males represented 38% of physician assistants in Georgia, while females represented 62%. The top three primary care/core specialties for physician assistants are family medicine 12.4%, emergency medicine 11.2% and internal
medicine 6.4%. 22.6% of physician assistants practiced in the anesthesiologist specialty, 12.4% practiced in the family medicine specialty and 10.5% practiced in
the emergency medicine specialty. There are 30 counties in Georgia with no physician assistants, representing a population of 358,852. The top 3 ranked counties for physician assistants are Tift 83.7, Richmond 79.3 and Fulton 76.6 per 100,000. The bottom 3 ranked counties for physician assistants are Harris 2.9, Murray 2.5 and Polk 2.4 per 100,000. 83.3% of physician assistants reported they work fulltime, 16.7% reported they do not work fulltime. 0.5% of physician assistants reported they work for state government; 2.4% reported they work for county government.
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Methods
The survey consists of data for 2016 and 2017 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

2017 Median Pay

$104,860 annually

Typical Education

Masters degree

Number of Jobs

106,200 nationally

Job Outlook 2016 - 2026

37% growth nationally

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Physician Assistants. Retrieved https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/physician-assistants.htm on December 10, 2018.

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US Distribution of Physician Assistants by Employment 2017
Map 1

* Employment of PAs by State.

Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/oes/2017/may/oes291071.html on December 10, 2017.

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Physician Assistants by Age Group and Retiring in 5 Years Georgia 2016 - 2017
Chart 1
The two highest age groups for physician assistants were less than 35 (30.1%) and age group 35-39 (17.4%).
25.4% of Georgia's physician assistants were age 50 and above; of that number 4.6% reported they would retire in 5 years.
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Chart 2

Physician Assistants by Race Georgia 2016 - 2017
In 2016 2017 whites represented 80% of the physician assistant population.
Blacks represented 11% of physician assistants.
Asians represented 5% of physician assistants.

Physician Assistants by Gender Georgia 2015 - 2016
Chart 3
In 2016 2017 62% of physicians assistants in Georgia were female and males represented 38%.

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Distribution of Primary Care/Core Specialties Physician Assistants by MSA and Non-MSA
Georgia 2016 - 2017

Table 3
Distribution of Primary Care/Core Specialties by MSA/Non-MSA Demographics, Georgia 2016 - 2017

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

MSA
Physician Assistants 330 170 57 36 51 278 27 949

Non-MSA

Percent 75.3% 81.0% 83.8% 81.8% 86.4% 82.0% 87.1% 79.8%

Physician Assistants 108 40 11 8 8 61 4 240

Totals by Specialty

79.8% of physician assistants practiced in a MSA and 20.2% practiced in a Non-MSA.

Percent 24.7% 19.0% 16.2% 18.2% 13.6% 18.0% 12.9% 20.2%

The primary care/core specialties with

438

the highest concentration of physician assistants in a MSA are psychiatry,

210 general surgery and pediatrics.

68

44

59

339

31

1,189

9

Chart 3

Chart 4

Physician Assistant Specialty Mix Georgia 2016 - 2017
The specialty mix for physician assistants in primary care/core specialties was 35%, in specialties outside of primary care/core specialties 40% and other 25%.

Physician Assistants by Primary Care/Core Specialties

Chart 5

Georgia 2016 2017

The top three primary care/core specialties for physician assistants were family medicine 12.4%, emergency medicine 11.2% and internal medicine 6.4%.
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Physician Assistants by Practice Setting Georgia 2016 - 2017

Table 4
Practice Setting Hospital Clinic College/University Multi-Specialty Physician Group Solo physician practice
Hospital University Nursing Home or LTC Facility HMO Physician Practice Management Organization Home Health Agency Community Health Center Totals

Number

1,100 764 637 580
515 90 69
27 16 13 3,811

Percent

28.9% 20.0% 16.7% 15.2%

13.5% 2.4% 1.8%

0.7% 0.4% 0.3% 100.0%
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Physician Assistants by Top 5 Practice Settings Georgia 2016 - 2017
Chart 6
The top 5 practice settings for physician assistants were hospital clinic, college university, multi-specialty physician group, solo physician practice and hospital university.
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Distribution of Physician Assistants by Practice Setting and Primary Care/Core Specialty, Number and Percent
Georgia 2016 - 2017

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

Solo Physician Practice

Multi-Specialty Physician Group

Hospital University

133 52.0%
54 21.1%
31 12.1%
17 6.6%
9 3.5%
5 2.0%
7 2.7%
256 100.0%

70 41.2%
42 24.7%
12 7.1%
7 4.1%
11 6.5%
25 14.7%
3 1.8%
170 100.0%

6 5.4%
14 12.6%
3 2.7%
1 0.9%
76 68.5%
10 9.0%
1 0.9%
111 100.0%

Hospital Clinic

Home Health Agency

54 16.0%
45 13.4%
17 5.0%
7 2.1%
193 57.3%
14 4.2%
7 2.1%
337 100.0%

0 0.0%
2 25.0%
3 37.5%
1 12.5%
2 25.0%
0 0.0%
0 0.0%
8 100.0%

HMO

Community Nursing Home Health Center or LTC Facility

Physician Practice Management Organizatin

College Other

35

2

26

13

133

62.5%

33.3%

52.0%

76.5%

41.8%

12

2

6

3

49

21.4%

33.3%

12.0%

17.6%

15.4%

2

0

3

0

11

3.6%

0.0%

6.0%

0.0%

3.5%

3

0

2

0

9

5.4%

0.0%

4.0%

0.0%

2.8%

1

0

13

1

96

1.8%

0.0%

26.0%

5.9%

30.2%

0

1

0

0

8

0.0%

16.7%

0.0%

0.0%

2.5%

3

1

0

0

12

5.4%

16.7%

0.0%

0.0%

3.8%

56

6

50

17

318

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

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Chart 7

Physician Assistants Fulltime Status Georgia 2016 - 2017
83.3% of physician assistants worked fulltime, 16.7% reported they did not work fulltime.
In Rural Georgia 299 physician assistants reported they work fulltime, 62 reported they do not work fulltime.
In Non-Rural Georgia 2,512 physician assistants reported they work fulltime, 491 reported they do not work fulltime.
Physician Assistants Employed by the State or County Georgia 2016 - 2017
Chart 8

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Distribution of Physician Assistants by

Map 2

MSA and Non-MSA, Georgia 2016 - 2017

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
MSA Non-MSA

Total Physician Assistants MSA and Non-MSA

Physician Assistants

2015 Population

3,005

8,642,840

359

1,786,539

Rate per 100,000 34.8 20.1

Rate per 100,000 by MSA

0

15 Counties

1-10

20 Counties

11-1

11 Counties

20 - 30

13 Counties

30-82

15 Counties

Based on the renewal data the state of Georgia has 3,811 actively practicing physician assistants.

The rate for total physician assistants is 36.5 per 100,000 population.

There are 15 counties in MSAs with no physician assistants. This represents a population of 216,674.

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

447 Physician assistants did not report a work county.

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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

-

3,811 10,429,379

36.5

91

2

18,521

10.8

88

1

8,342

12.0

90

1

11,319

8.8

76

0

3,200

0.0

47

6

44,906

13.4

10

1

18,634

5.4

27

3

79,061

3.8

17

10

105,054

9.5

87

0

16,996

0.0

85

7

19,186

36.5

46

88

152,862

57.6

63

1

12,830

7.8

93

0

18,731

0.0

81

3

15,587

19.2

52

6

37,060

16.2

53

18

76,149

23.6

50

2

22,522

8.9

37

3

24,059

12.5

76

2

6,455

31.0

96

6

53,044

11.3

55

1

10,797

9.3

19

26

117,812

22.1

1

3

66,550

4.5

95

3

12,715

23.6

52

175

290,501

60.2

43

0

10,343

0.0

18

2

24,770

8.1

15

37

247,573

14.9

27

69

127,064

54.3

76

0

2,962

0.0

39

21

285,153

7.4

83

1

6,727

14.9

21

248

755,754

32.8

88

13

43,014

30.2

78

7

45,835

15.3

31

32

151,579

21.1

80

1

17,277

5.8

41

47

143,114

32.8

46

1

12,295

8.1

Rank -
88 84 94 130 77 118 124 89 130 20
8 102 130
57 66 39 93 81 28 87 91 47 122 40
5 130
99 71 10 130 106 72 26 29 69 50 113 25 98

Georgia Physician Assistants by County

Total

Georgia Primary Care Physician

2015

Rate per

County Name Service Area Assistants Population 100,000

Rank

Crisp

65

2

22,736

8.8

95

Dade

1

2

16,285

12.3

82

Dawson

11

4

24,379

16.4

65

Decatur

73

4

26,716

15.0

70

DeKalb

23

340

753,253

45.1

15

Dodge

62

4

20,730

19.3

56

Dooly

66

3

13,737

21.8

48

Dougherty

76

44

89,502

49.2

13

Douglas

20

7

143,882

4.9

121

Early

71

4

10,296

38.9

17

Echols

82

0

3,936

0.0

130

Effingham

52

5

59,982

8.3

97

Elbert

29

1

19,109

5.2

119

Emanuel

57

4

22,530

17.8

63

Evans

56

1

10,775

9.3

90

Fannin

4

2

25,322

7.9

101

Fayette

40

66

112,549

58.6

7

Floyd

18

58

97,613

59.4

6

Forsyth

13

54

227,967

23.7

38

Franklin

9

2

22,820

8.8

96

Fulton

22

798

1,041,423

76.6

3

Gilmer

3

2

30,674

6.5

110

Glascock

32

0

3,062

0.0

130

Glynn

93

41

85,282

48.1

14

Gordon

16

17

57,089

29.8

31

Grady

74

2

24,819

8.1

100

Greene

34

3

17,281

17.4

64

Gwinnett

25

180

920,260

19.6

55

Habersham

10

6

44,567

13.5

75

Hall

11

112

199,335

56.2

9

Hancock

33

1

8,561

11.7

85

Haralson

19

6

29,256

20.5

52

Harris

43

1

33,915

2.9

127

Hart

28

0

25,794

0.0

130

Heard

42

0

11,730

0.0

130

Henry

38

63

225,813

27.9

34

Houston

67

24

153,479

15.6

68

Irwin

86

0

9,410

0.0

130

Jackson

27

Jasper

36

14

67,519

20.7

4

13,964

28.6

51

16

32

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

0

15,025

0.0

Jefferson

49

6

15,648

38.3

Jenkins

54

2

8,767

22.8

Johnson

48

2

9,788

20.4

Jones

46

0

28,470

0.0

Lamar

44

1

18,599

5.4

Lanier

84

2

10,425

19.2

Laurens

60

15

47,330

31.7

Lee

76

2

29,470

6.8

Liberty

52

17

61,386

27.7

Lincoln

31

0

7,880

0.0

Long

92

0

19,014

0.0

Lowndes

82

33

115,489

28.6

Lumpkin

12

7

32,873

21.3

Macon

66

1

13,314

7.5

Madison

27

0

29,302

0.0

Marion

43

0

8,450

0.0

McDuffie

32

5

21,498

23.3

Mcintosh

93

0

14,106

0.0

Meriwether

42

0

21,049

0.0

Miller

72

2

5,838

34.3

Mitchell

76

2

22,292

9.0

Monroe

45

2

27,113

7.4

Montgomery

58

2

9,031

22.1

Morgan

27

1

18,412

5.4

Murray

2

1

39,782

2.5

Muscogee

43

87

194,058

44.8

Newton

36

14

108,078

13.0

Oconee

27

13

38,028

34.2

Oglethorpe

27

1

14,877

6.7

Paulding

21

9

159,445

5.6

Peach

46

1

27,099

3.7

Pickens

14

7

31,588

22.2

Pierce

94

1

19,307

5.2

Pike

37

1

18,217

5.5

Polk

18

1

42,085

2.4

Pulaski

64

0

11,201

0.0

Putnam

35

3

21,730

13.8

Quitman

70

0

2,358

0.0

Rabun

7

1

16,602

6.0

Rank 130 19 44 53 130 117 58 27 108 35 130 130 33 49 104 130 130 41 130 130 22 92 105 46 116 128 16 78 23 109 114 125 45 120 115 129 130 74 130 111

Georgia Physician Assistants by County

Total

Georgia County Primary Care Physician

2015

Rate per

Name Service Area Assistants Population 100,000 Rank

Randolph

70

1

7,075

14.1

73

Richmond

31

160

201,800

79.3

2

Rockdale

24

18

90,312

19.9

54

Schley

68

1

5,213

19.2

59

Screven

51

1

13,953

7.2

107

Seminole

72

0

8,292

0.0

130

Spalding

37

15

65,380

22.9

43

Stephens

8

1

25,890

3.9

123

Stewart

69

2

5,985

33.4

24

Sumter

68

4

29,847

13.4

76

Talbot

43

1

6,249

16.0

67

Taliaferro

30

0

1,628

0.0

130

Tattnall

56

7

25,334

27.6

36

Taylor

46

0

8,142

0.0

130

Telfair

61

4

15,989

25.0

37

Terrell

76

0

8,729

0.0

130

Thomas

75

34

44,779

75.9

4

Tift

79

34

40,598

83.7

1

Toombs

58

14

26,999

51.9

12

Towns

6

4

11,506

34.8

21

Treutlen

60

0

6,740

0.0

130

Troup

42

13

69,786

18.6

62

Turner

79

1

7,961

12.6

80

Twiggs

46

1

8,174

12.2

83

Union

5

9

23,459

38.4

18

Upson

44

6

26,135

23.0

42

Walker

1

4

68,939

5.8

112

Walton

26

7

91,600

7.6

103

Ware

94

19

35,871

53.0

11

Warren

32

1

5,303

18.9

61

Washington

48

0

20,313

0.0

130

Wayne

92

9

29,817

30.2

30

Webster

69

0

2,605

0.0

130

Wheeler

59

1

7,952

12.6

79

White

11

1

29,453

3.4

126

Whitfield

2

20

104,658

19.1

60

Wilcox

64

1

8,800

11.4

86

Wilkes

30

Wilkinson

46

0

9,892

0.0

130

0

8,959

0.0

130

17

Worth

77

0

20,533

0.0

130

The 2017 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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