Physician shortages are a recognized challenge in the U.S. healthcare system. The scarcity of anesthesiologists, specifically, carries major implications.
Mismatched supply-demand for anesthesia dates back to the early 2000s. In a 2002 survey commissioned by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, 47% of hospital administrators reported a restriction on operating room numbers and hours due to a lack of availability of anesthesia providers, research shows.
Anesthesiologist shortages not only strain healthcare delivery and access but can also risk patient safety and surgical outcomes. Increasing overlapping coverage by anesthesiologists is associated with increased surgical patient morbidity and mortality, according to a 2022 study in JAMA Surgery.
The aging population will require more procedures with monitored sedation, spiking demand for anesthesia. Rising demand for surgeons and surgeries will need to be matched with an increase to the supply of anesthesia services; it has been previously been suggested that the number of anesthesiologists needed is 50% of the total number of surgeons, with the remaining need met by CRNAs, according to the Journal of Medicine, Surgery and Public Health.
While rapid growth in the number of CRNAs has eased some of the unmet demand for anesthesia, this category of anesthesia providers still requires supervision by a board-certified anesthesiologist in many states with a capped ratio of physician to CRNAs.
Below are 30 states and Washington, D.C., ranked by active anesthesiologists as a percentage of their overall active physicians (including surgeons). The 15 states with the highest proportion of anesthesiologists to physicians and 15 with lowest proportion are reflected. Data, from September 2023, is sourced from KFF and includes active allopathic and osteopathic physicians.
Highest densities
Indiana: 13.12%
1,211 anesthesiologists
9,227 physicians
Montana: 12.38%
142 anesthesiologists
1,147 physicians
Nevada: 11.87%
417 anesthesiologists
3,514 physicians
Utah: 11.63%
479 anesthesiologists
4,118 physicians
Washington: 11.60%
1,359 anesthesiologists
11,713 physicians
Wyoming: 11.44%
61 anesthesiologists
533 physicians
Iowa: 11.29%
518 anesthesiologists
4,590 physicians
Colorado: 11.12%
840 anesthesiologists
7,551 physicians
Nebraska: 10.93%
323 anesthesiologists
2,955 physicians
Wisconsin: 10.85%
1,063 anesthesiologists
9,795 physicians
Oregon: 10.77%
703 anesthesiologists
6,529 physicians
Kansas: 10.63%
430 anesthesiologists
4,046 physicians
Oklahoma: 10.60%
549 anesthesiologists
5,181 physicians
Texas: 10.39%
3,987 anesthesiologists
38,357 physicians
Arizona: 10.29%
1,091 anesthesiologists
10,601 physicians
Lowest densities
Rhode Island: 4.79%
143 anesthesiologists
2,987 physicians
South Dakota: 6.52%
68 anesthesiologists
1,043 physicians
Delaware: 6.75%
116 anesthesiologists
1,718 physicians
District of Columbia: 6.81%
333 anesthesiologists
4,890 physicians
Michigan: 7.15%
1,692 anesthesiologists
23,666 physicians
North Carolina: 7.30%
1,212 anesthesiologists
16,612 physicians
North Dakota: 7.31%
72 anesthesiologists
985 physicians
Idaho: 7.34%
106 anesthesiologists
1,445 physicians
Minnesota: 7.46%
757 anesthesiologists
10,149 physicians
Connecticut: 7.73%
742 anesthesiologists
9,605 physicians
Mississippi: 7.97%
298 anesthesiologists
3,741 physicians
West Virginia: 8.04%
222 anesthesiologists
2,761 physicians
Pennsylvania: 8.09%
2,428 anesthesiologists
30,011 physicians
Louisiana: 8.19%
653 anesthesiologists
7,975 physicians
Massachusetts: 8.23%
1,900 anesthesiologists
23,075 physicians
New York: 8.27%
4,680 anesthesiologists
56,592 physicians