You asked for the number of licensed physicians in Connecticut, including trends in licensure over the last few years. You are also interested in the number of physicians by specialty.

BACKGROUND

Physicians must be licensed by the Department of Public Health (DPH) in order to practice in Connecticut. The requirements for licensure are established in Chapter 370 of the General Statutes (see § 20-10 in particular). Licensure and other information about individual physicians in Connecticut can be obtained by accessing DPH's physician profile system created by PA 99-284 (CGS § 20-13; see http: //www. dph. state. ct. us).

LICENSED PHYSICIANS IN CONNECTICUT

In 2001, 901 new physician licenses were issued by DPH for a total of 13,522 total physician licenses in the state. Table 1 shows the physicians licensed by year from 1992 to 2001 and the total number of licensees for those years. (Holding a license doesn't necessarily mean the person is currently practicing in the state. There is no "retired physician" licensure status in the state. )

Table 1: Total Physician Licenses Issued by Year, Total Physicians Licensees by Year (1992-2001)

Source: DPH, Bureau of Regulatory Services, Division of Health Systems Regulation, Physician Licensure Summary Report, June 5, 2002

Table 2 further breaks down Connecticut's licensed physicians by specialty category.

Table 2: Total Number of Physicians with Current Licenses by Specialty (as of June 5, 2002)*

* Note that some physicians report more than one specialty

Source: DPH, Bureau of Regulatory Services, Division of Health Systems Regulation

A further breakdown of current physician licenses by subspecialties is included as "Attachment 1. " (Some physicians have more than one subspecialty, so totals as compared to "specialty" categories might not match. )

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