Discipline Rates by Medical Specialty

How discipline rates vary across 137 medical specialties. Rates are calculated per 1,000 licensed physicians using FSMB census and Public Citizen discipline data.

Specialty Physicians Actions Rate/1K
Licensed Healthcare Professional 20,257
Nursing 13,588
Physician 7,495
Healthcare Employee 5,192
Individual (Unaffiliated) 4,516
Skilled Nursing Facility 4,220
Business Owner/Executive 4,190
Hospital 2,390
Durable Medical Equipment 2,261
Pharmacy 2,240
Private Entity 1,944
Chiropractic 1,760
Home Health Agency 1,343
Clinic 1,282
Dental 1,210
Transportation Company 795
Intermediate Care Facility 793
Therapist 622
Other Business 589
Mental Health Facility 561
Counseling 560
OWNER/OPERATOR 536
Psychology 510
Podiatry 442
OSTEOPATHY 363
EMPLOYEE 314
Laboratory 275
NURSE/NURSES AIDE 245
HEALTH CARE AIDE 222
PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT 195
STATE GOV'T 115
BUSINESS MANAGER 110
PHYSICAL THERAPIST 100
AMBULANCE COMPANY 93
ACUPUNCTURIST 90
OPTOMETRY 81
MEDICAL GROUP 77
TECHNICIAN 71
EMERGENCY MED TECH 55
RECIPT/BENEFICIARY 42
ACCOUNT/BOOKKPR/AUDI 38
PARAMEDIC TECHNICIAN 37
OPTICIAN 37
BILLING SERVICE CO 37
REHAB FACILITY - GEN 33
SOCIAL WORKER 30
ADMINISTRATOR 29
MANAGEMENT SVCS CO 27
GENERAL PRACTICE 27
OTHER CONTRACTOR 25
DRUG COMPANY/SUPLIER 25
EMPLOYEE - GRADE UNK 24
COUNSELOR 24
ADULT HOME 24
SALES/MARKET/RETAIL 23
OPTICAL PRACTICE 23
OFFICER/EXECUT/BOARD 23
DOCTOR OWNED ENTITY 23
CLERK/OTHER CLERICAL 20
LOCAL GOV'T 19
TRIBAL AGENCY 18
CONSULTING FIRM 18
AUDIOLOGIST 18
EMPLOYEE - 14 & BELO 16
OPTOMETRIC PRACTICE 15
RADIOLOGY FACILITY 14
NIH 13
ACF 12
RADIOLOGY 10
OSTEOPATHIC PRAC 8
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTO 8
FAMILY PRACTICE 8
CONSULTANT 8
COMPTROLLER 7
INTERNAL MEDICINE 6
EMPLOYEE - MILITARY 6
SURGERY 5
RURAL HEALTH CLINIC 5
LAWYER 5
GOVT EMP(STATE/LOC) 5
CONTRACTOR 5
PAIN MANAGEMENT 4
NEUROLOGY 4
HEMATOLOGY 4
SAMHSA 3
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY 3
MEDICARE ADV CONTR ( 3
MEDICAID MANAGED CAR 3
MANUF/LESSOR SUPP/EQ 3
INTERPRETER/TRANS 3
DMERC 3
DERMATOLOGY 3
COMM MNTL HLTH CNTR 3
BOARDING HOME 3
AMBLNTRY SRGCL CNTR 3
ALLIED HEALTH RELATE 3
SUBCONTRACTING CO 2
RELATED 2
PSYCHIATRY 2
OPHTHALMOLOGY 2
MEDICARE PART D CONT 2
IHS 2
HRSA 2
HEALTH MAINT ORG 2
FISCAL AGENT 2
CMS 2
CARDIOLOGY 2
VENDOR 1
UROLOGY 1
TEACHER 1
RENAL FACILITY 1
PUBLIC OFFICE 1
PRINTING FIRM 1
PLASTIC SURGERY 1
PHYS/DENT/HEAL/PROVI 1
ORTHOTIST/PROSTHETIS 1
ONCOLOGY 1
MULTI-SPECIALTY 1
LICENSED PRACTITIONE 1
LAB - CLINICAL 1
HOSPICE 1
HHS EMPLOYEE 1
HC CONGLOM - PARENT 1
GYN/OBS 1
GS 1-12 1
GRANTEE 1
GOVT EMPLOYEE(FED) 1
GOV'T INSUR RECIPIEN 1
GENERAL PRACTICE/FP 1
EMPLOYEE - WAGE GRAD 1
EMPLOYEE - GM/GS-15 1
EMERGENCY MEDICINE 1
ARCHITECT/ENGINEER 1
ANESTHESIOLOGY 1
ALLERGIST/IMMUNOLOGY 1
AHRQ 1
ACL 1

Source: FSMB 2023 Physician Census (physician counts), Public Citizen HRG #2235 (discipline actions 2021-2023). National rate: 10.19 per 1,000 physicians.

Discipline data is derived from proportional analysis of national aggregates. Individual case data is maintained by state medical boards. This information is for educational purposes only.