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. 2 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. 3 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. 4 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. 5 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. 6 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. 7 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%. 8 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%. 10 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% 11 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. 12 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% 13 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 14 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. 15 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. 18