34566 Trends in demographics and practice patterns among female and male dermatologists: A population-based study

Abstract

Background: A clearer perspective of the changing landscape of dermatology will have important implications for resource planning. We aimed to describe the change in demographics and practice patterns of female and male dermatologists over the past 3 decades. Methods: This is a population-based study using health administrative data held at ICES. All physician demographics and Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) billing claims for dermatologists in Ontario, Canada between 1992-2018 were reviewed. Full-time equivalent (FTE) was used as a measure of workload calculated using median yearly payments. Results: The representation of female dermatologists increased from 32% in 1992 to 46% in 2018. The median age of females was 40 (IQR: 36–53) years in 1992 and increased to 47 (IQR: 39–60) years in 2018. For male dermatologists, the median age increased from 49 (IQR: 42–58) years in 1992 to 55 (IQR: 44–69) years in 2018. Among female dermatologists, 49% and 57% were in the ≥1 FTE groups in 1992 and 2018, respectively, compared with 66% and 63% of male dermatologists. In 2018, the yearly median number of unique patients in the practice of female and male dermatologists was 2490 (IQR: 1800–3860) and 3450 (IQR: 1780–5740), respectively. With regard to yearly median number of patient visits, female and male dermatologists had 4470 (IQR: 2820–6210) and 5450 (IQR: 2840–9790) visits in 2018, respectively. Conclusion: An increase in female representation has led to more females in the ≥1 FTE groups; however, further exploration into barriers for female dermatologists’ access to ≥1 FTE practices is required.