Physician and provider search volume did not change much in 2025 compared to the previous year, according to a new report from the Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment.
The 2026 edition of the AAPPR’s “Physician and Provider Recruitment Benchmarking Report: Search Dynamics and Trends” includes data on more than 10,000 physician and provider searches in 2025 from recruitment teams that collectively recruit for more than 21,000 unique healthcare locations.
Here are seven numbers to know on the state of physician recruitment, according to a Sept. 16 news release from the AAPPR:
1. $512,500. The median annual budget for internal physician recruitment departments was $512,500 in 2025, a decrease of 7.4% compared to 2024.
2. 119 days. Searches to fill a physician position had a median timeline of 119 days.
3. 312 days. Endocrinology and metabolism had the longest median recruitment timeline of any physician specialty at 312 days.
4. 229 days. The typical physician began work 229 days after a position was posted — a timeline that includes credentialing, privileging, licensing and onboarding.
5. 11.6%. Family medicine accounted for 11.6% of physician searches in 2025, the most of any specialty. Hospital medicine was the only other specialty above 10%.
6. 50%. At the end of 2025, 50% of physician searches remained open, up from 49% at the end of 2024 and 47% at the end of 2023.
7. 28.3%. Only 28.3% of urology physician searches were filled at the end of 2025. Other specialties with a fill rate of less than 50% include neurology, cardiology, anesthesia and gastroenterology.
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