Manasquan, N.J. -- Multi-specialty IPAs outnumbered single-specialty IPAs by 40.4 percent this year, according to a new study by the National Directory of Physician Organizations.
Of the 151 specialty IPAs nationwide, 106, or 70.2 percent, were multi-specialty; 45, or 29.8 percent, were single-specialty.
The bulk of the multi-specialty IPAs, 34.91 percent, was in the Pacific region, which includes California and the other West Coast states.
The Pacific region also had the most single-specialty IPAs — 15, or 33.33 percent.
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Top 10 IPA Specialties
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Specialty
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Number of IPAs |
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Orthopedics
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132 |
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Pediatrics
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129 |
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Obstetrics/Gynecology
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127 |
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Ophthalmology
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126 |
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Cardiovascular Disease
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124 |
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Gastroenterology
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123 |
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Surgery
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121 |
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Neurology and Urology (tied)
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118 |
Source: The National Directory of Physician Organizations, 2001.
The New England states had the fewest multi-specialty IPAs — two, or 1.32 percent — and no single-specialty IPA.
Among states, California had the most specialty and multi-specialty IPAs — 45, or 29.8 percent of the national total. Of the 45, 31 were multi-specialty, or 29.25 percent of all multi-specialty IPAs, and 14 were single-specialty, or 31.11 percent of all single-specialty IPAs.
Most-Popular Specialties
The three most popular IPA specialties nationwide were orthopedics, obstetrics/gynecology and pediatrics, according to the study.
Orthopedics topped the list, with 132 IPAs nationwide, followed by pediatrics, with 129, and OB/GYN, with 127.
Ophthalmology was a close fourth (126), followed by cardiovascular specialties (124) and gastroenterology (123), the study revealed.
The least common specialties were proctology and occupational medicine, practiced among 54 and 61 IPAs, respectively.
IPAs with specialties in orthopedics, pediatrics and OB/GYN were most likely to be found in the Pacific region than any other part of the United States.
The Pacific region, which includes of all of the West Coast states, contained slightly more than one-third (34.71 percent) of IPAs with a pediatrics specialty; nearly one-third (31.54 percent) of IPAs with orthopedic specialties; and 29.37 percent of IPAs with OB/GYN specialties.
The Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic regions, which include the East Coast states from New York to Florida, each had the second-most orthopaedic IPAs, or 17.69 percent.
The Mid-Atlantic (New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania) had the-second most OB/GYN IPAs (16.08 percent).
The South Atlantic region (Delaware to Florida), had the second-most pediatrics IPAs (16.54 percent).
Among states, California had the most IPAs, 36, in each of the three specialties. The number accounted for 85.71 percent of the IPAs with pediatrics and OB/GYN specialties in the Pacific region, and 75.61 percent of the IPAs with specialties in orthopedics.
Address: The National Directory of Physician Organizations, 1913 Atlantic Ave., Suite F4, Manasquan, NJ 08736; (888) THE-MCIC, fax (888) FAX-MCIC, www.themcic.com.
For more information contact The Managed Care Information Center, 1913 Atlantic Avenue, Suite F4, Manasquan, NJ, 08736, toll-free telephone 1-888-THE-MCIC (1-888-843-6242), fax 1-888-FAX-MCIC (1-888-329-6242), e-mail info@themcic.com or online at http://www.themcic.com.
