Purpose or Case Report: The aim of this study was to examine trends in physicians in diagnostic and pediatric radiology with subset analysis of female representation within these specialties in the United States between 2017 and 2024. We sought to assess changes in the proportion of radiologists, identify growth or decline patterns, and analyze potential factors contributing to the observed trends.
Methods & Materials: A retrospective analysis of data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Physician and Other Supplier Public Use File (PUF) was conducted for the years 2017 to 2024. Physicians practicing in the specialties of radiology and pediatric radiology were identified using specialty data. Due to lack of subspecialty data within this data set, pediatric radiologists were defined as diagnostic radiologists with at least one affiliation with a pediatric hospital. The extracted data included provider gender, practice affiliation, and retirement rates. Statistical methods were used to determine the percentage of overall physicians and female physicians in these specialties annually, and trend analysis was performed to evaluate growth rates over time.
Results: The analysis revealed a steady increase in the number of physicians in diagnostic radiology, particularly in the last couple years. Similarly, there was a growth in pediatric radiology, although more modest than the growth of diagnostic radiology overall. Analysis of retirement rates in pediatric radiology demonstrated a higher greater rate of retirement compared to all of radiology. Subset analysis reveals that the proportion of females within diagnostic radiology has slowly increased from 23.8% to 25.2% from 2017 to 2024. However, there remains a disproportionate number of females in pediatric radiology.
Conclusions: The number of radiologists and pediatric radiologists has increased over the last several years, however there is a disproportionately smaller rate of increase amongst pediatric radiologists. This may be in part due to a higher rate of retirement rates amongst this subspecialty. Pediatric radiology continues to attract a higher percentage of female physicians compared to the broader field of radiology. Continued efforts are needed to support and enhance the participation of women in radiology to ensure diversity and representation within these critical medical fields.