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

National totals

What this specialty covers

A general surgeon has expertise related to the diagnosis - preoperative, operative and postoperative management - and management of complications of surgical conditions in the following areas: alimentary tract; abdomen; breast, skin and soft tissue; endocrine system; head and neck surgery; pediatric surgery; surgical critical care; surgical oncology; trauma and burns; and vascular surgery. General surgeons increasingly provide care through the use of minimally invasive and endoscopic techniques. Many general surgeons also possess expertise in transplantation surgery, plastic surgery and cardiothoracic surgery.

Reading the sole-proprietor share

For this specialty, 8,292 records, or 17.9%, are flagged as sole proprietors. The flag is a self-reported NPPES field and an imperfect proxy for private practice: it does not by itself show ownership, employment structure, or whether a clinician works independently or in a group.

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.
• - NPI counts are an administrative measure and may not equal the number of surgeons currently practicing, accepting patients, or working full time.
• - A primary taxonomy reflects how the NPI record is classified in NPPES and may not capture every service or subspecialty a surgeon provides.
• 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