Internal Medicine Physician: how many are there, and how many are in private practice?

National totals

What this specialty covers

A physician who provides long-term, comprehensive care in the office and the hospital, managing both common and complex illness of adolescents, adults and the elderly. Internists are trained in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, infections and diseases affecting the heart, blood, kidneys, joints and digestive, respiratory and vascular systems. They are also trained in the essentials of primary care internal medicine, which incorporates an understanding of disease prevention, wellness, substance abuse, mental health and effective treatment of common problems of the eyes, ears, skin, nervous system and reproductive organs.

Reading the sole-proprietor share

For Internal Medicine Physician records, 38,404 of 212,567 active records, or 18.1%, carry the sole-proprietor flag. This is a self-reported NPPES field and an imperfect proxy for private practice, because it does not by itself establish ownership, employment arrangement, independence, or work outside a larger organization.

By state

New NPI registrations by year

Counts reflect the year each NPI was first issued, among records still active today. The final year is partial: this data covers through 2026-01-11.

Data notes

• The sole-proprietor field is self-reported by the provider in NPPES and is an imperfect proxy for private practice.
• A sole-proprietor count shown as <11 is suppressed: the true value is below 11, which could include zero.
• Counts cover active NPI records whose primary taxonomy is 207R00000X; providers may hold additional taxonomies.
• NPI totals should not be interpreted as measures of patient volume, full-time clinical capacity, or current clinical activity.
• State totals reflect NPPES registration information and may not represent where care is delivered.
• Providers are counted once, by their primary taxonomy code only.

Source: CMS National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES) Data Dissemination file, FOIA-disclosable public data under CMS-6060-N. Aggregated by Hero EMR on 2026-08-03; deactivated NPIs excluded; specialty assigned from the primary taxonomy code (NUCC 25.1). Counts below 11 are suppressed. Individual providers are never published. All provider data pages.

Common questions