Economic impact of physicians quantified for 2015

(HealthDay)—Physicians have a large economic impact across the nation, creating an aggregate of $2.3 trillion of economic activity and supporting employment of nearly 12.6 million Americans, according to a report published by the American Medical Association.

The report captures the 2015 economic activity of all physicians providing patient care (nearly 750,000 physicians). Indirect benefits such as business-to-business spending on supplies, equipment, and laboratory services were included, as was the downstream economic activity of induced benefits.

According to the report, the state-level measure of direct and indirect revenue was calculated to be $32.8 billion. For each direct output dollar, an extra $1.84 indirect output was created, resulting in a national figure of $2.3 trillion. At the individual state level, physicians supported an average of 182,370 total jobs, including their own and other direct positions and indirect employment; the total employment figure was close to 12.6 million nationally. Physician-supported wages and benefits averaged $16.7 billion in state-level value; the figure was more than $1 trillion at the national level, including indirect wages and benefits. The average physician support was $1.3 billion for state and local taxes; with $92.9 billion in state and local tax revenues nationwide for 2015.

"The breadth of a physician's impact reaches far beyond just the provision of patient care," the authors write. "Physicians also play a vital role in the state and local economies by creating jobs, purchasing goods and services, and supporting state and community public programs through generated tax revenues."