Report: Advanced practice providers gaining ground on physicians
CHICAGO – May 7TH, 2025 – Two out of every five healthcare providers in the United States (40.6%) are non-physician, advanced practice providers due to continued growth in this clinician segment, according to the quarterly Physician Flash Report from Kaufman Hall, a Vizient company.
Experts say surgical and primary care are driving increased demand for these professionals, who enter the healthcare workforce more quickly than physicians and face less rigorous education and training requirements. If the forecast for continued growth holds, non-physician clinicians and physicians will ultimately comprise equal parts of the provider practice workforce nationally.
“Advanced practice providers like physician assistants and nurse practitioners play a vital and increasingly visible role in healthcare,” said Matthew Bates, Managing Director and Physician Enterprise Service Line Leader with Kaufman Hall. “When deployed correctly, advanced practice providers let physicians practice at the top of their license. They give doctors more time to focus on diagnosis and treatment, which can make physician practices more efficient and address other challenges, including physician burnout.”
Furthermore, the report cautions that the downstream margin physicians generate from their practice may not be enough to cover a practice’s investment, or subsidy, of a physician, which was $312,528 on average in the first quarter of 2025, a 6% increase from a year earlier.
U.S. hospitals and health systems reported decreased daily volume in March 2025, due to declines in seasonal flu and other respiratory illnesses from previous months, according to Kaufman Hall’s National Hospital Flash Report.
This trend explains why it was less expensive to deliver care to hospital patients in March than earlier in the quarter, even though hospital expenses, driven by growth in supply and drug costs, rose when compared to the previous year.
Key month-over-month volume indicators, including discharges per calendar day (-5%), equivalent patient days per calendar day (-4%) and operating room minutes per calendar day (-4%) were in negative territory, while average length of stay (0%) was flat.
“Hospitals need to remain vigilant about their expenses, especially as the United States enters a period of economic and policy uncertainty,” said Erik Swanson, Managing Director and Data and Analytics Group Leader with Kaufman Hall. “With revenue largely flat, finding efficiencies that can reduce expenses is mission critical.”
Kaufman Hall’s National Hospital Flash Report draws on data from more than 1,300 hospitals from Strata Decision Technology, LLC. The Physician Flash Report draws on data based on more than 200,000 providers, also from Strata.
About Kaufman Hall, a Vizient Company
Kaufman Hall, a Vizient company, provides management consulting solutions to help society’s foundational institutions realize sustained success amid changing market conditions. Since 1985, Kaufman Hall has been a trusted advisor to boards and executive management teams, helping them incorporate proven methods, rigorous analytics, and industry-leading solutions into their strategic planning and financial management processes, with a focus on achieving their most challenging goals.
Kaufman Hall services use a rigorous, disciplined, and structured approach that is based on the principles of corporate finance. The breadth and integration of Kaufman Hall advisory services are unparalleled, encompassing strategy; financial and capital planning; performance improvement; treasury and capital markets management; mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, and joint ventures; and real estate.