Where PAs and NPs Actually Practice (and Why Most Brands Miss Them)
Where NPs and PAs practice tells a different story than where most pharma brands engage them.
In 2024, nearly two in five U.S. patients (38%) received care from an PA or NP. Claims-based analysis reveals a substantial PA and NP share of the workforce across high-volume specialty areas, extending well beyond primary care:
• Behavioral Health: ~47.8% of clinicians
• Psychiatry: 38.7%
• Infectious Disease: ~40%
• Metabolic Disease, Dermatology, Endocrinology & General Medicine: 30–40%+
These aren't incidental patient interactions. PAs and NPs serve as first-touch clinicians, managing chronic conditions, initiating therapy, and making longitudinal treatment decisions in outpatient and ambulatory environments where physician access is most constrained.
Geographic distribution compounds the opportunity.
State-level density analysis shows PA/NP-to-population ratios ranging from 1.44 to 4.07 per 1,000 residents across states. Higher concentrations correlate directly with regions experiencing physician shortages - precisely the regions where your brand may have limited physician reach today.
Highest PA/NP density: ME, VT, MT, AK, NM.
Lowest PA/NP density: NV, CA, UT, NJ, TX.
In several states, PAs and NPs provided care to more than one-third of residents.
Understanding this clinical footprint is a prerequisite for accurate territory modeling, media allocation, and HCP targeting. The AAPA and POCN Group joint analysis includes the full specialty breakdown, geographic distribution data, and clinical area analysis.
