O&P and the Historic Healthcare Job Numbers

The O&P study by Dobson and DaVanzo estimated that there would need to be a 60 percent increase in the number of practitioners from 2015 levels to fulfill the demand by 2025. We’ll know more next year how much O&P contributed to the growth in healthcare job numbers. “By the end of the ten-year study period (2025), we estimate the demand will continue to increase to 20,504 O&P professionals and the supply will continue to decrease to 12,775 certified professionals. This will result in a demand-to supply ratio of 1.6—indicating that the credentialed supply would need to increase by about 60 percent to meet the growing demand,” the report said. 1 For its report, Altarum, which focuses on improving the health of individuals with fewer financial resources and populations disenfranchised by the healthcare system, analyzed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics ending January 31. Altarum found that healthcare employment expanded by 3.9 percent in 2023, more than 2.5 times faster than all other industries, which grew by 1.5 percent. Overall, one in four jobs created in the economy last year were in healthcare. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ February report, healthcare continued its growth trend, adding 70,300 jobs in January, an increase from the 37,700 jobs added in December 2023. To read “Slow health care employment growth in December capped off a historic year of job creation in 2023,” visit Altarum’s website. A subscription to EDGE Advantage gives members access to O&P-specific data, including results of our Compensation and Benefits survey, and our archived magazine content, such as “The State of the Profession: A Practitioner Population Survey.” In the 2020 feature, Gerald Stark, PhD, MSEM, CPO/L, FAAOP(D,) conducted a representative interview, or phenomenology, with five practitioners to answer the questions: How are we serving the current demand, and were the projections that initiated so many changes correct? How is this futuristic, now present, model of the prosthetist/orthotist fulfilling or not fulfilling the expectations of the key stakeholders—including patients, new students, schools, ancillary support personnel, and the profession? Visit and subscribe to EDGE Advantage at opedge.com. References DaVanzo, J. 2015. National Commission on Orthotic & Prosthetic Education, Alexandria, Virginia.

O&P and the Historic Healthcare Job Numbers

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