Takeaways from Florida’s physician workforce report

By Jarrod Fowler, MHA
FMA Director of Health Care Policy and Innovation

The Florida Department of Health (DOH) has released its 2025 Physician Workforce Annual Report, which provides key statistics about the state’s clinician workforce and summarizes findings of the licensure survey that physicians must take when they receive and renew their licenses. The following summary includes information from DOH, the AAMC Workforce Data Report, and the Florida Safety Net Hospital Alliance Physician Workforce Shortage Report to present a broad view of Florida’s physician workforce. 

Physician supply and demographics

  • In Florida, 62,209 physicians provide direct patient care. Nationally, the number of physicians providing direct patient care is around one million.
  • Physicians 40-49 years old make up the largest age group, but 35% of Florida’s practicing physicians are 60 and above.
  • Women represent 33% of the state’s physician workforce. Nationally, 37.6% of physicians are women.

Geographic distribution

  • Florida is home to 25 physicians per 10,000 residents. AAMC data shows this as being roughly in line with the national average. However, Florida has a substantial shortage of physicians across several specialties, which would require an additional 3,835 physicians to address. The state also has a rapidly aging population that, in some cases, has higher-than-average healthcare needs. 
  • Alachua County has the highest ratio of physicians to residents (60 per 10,000).
  • Many rural counties have fewer than 10 physicians per 10,000 residents.

Specialties and primary care

  • Internal medicine (28%) and family medicine (15%) make up more than 40% of direct care physicians.
  • While 1,461 OB/GYNs in Florida deliver babies, 550 reported that they plan to discontinue obstetric care within the next two years. 
  • All but one of Florida 67 counties have at least partial primary care shortages.
     

Medicare acceptance 

While just over 95% of physicians say they accept new patients with Medicare, more than 2,045 physicians across the state do not.

Help us improve this data

If you have suggestions for improving the data collected during the biennial licensure renewal process, please let us know. The FMA has representatives on the Florida Physician Workforce Advisory Council and can voice support for survey modifications when warranted.