Market saturation

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Pain Applicant

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What's do you guys think is a decent ratio of pain doctors to population? For instance, do you think that if there is one pain doctor for every 200,000 people then that pain doctor will have enough patients to support a pretty busy practice? At approximately what ratio does the market become saturated? Is one pain doctor for every 50,000 people unsustainable on average?

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probably depends a great deal on the region of the country. also, keep in mind that there are other non-physicians and physicians who treat pain that are not "pain medicine" docs, i.e. pm&r, sports medicine, gen med, pas, crnas, rns. is some states physician assistants do a good amount of injections on patients as well (caudals, si joints, peripheral joints).
 
25-50 K people can definitely support a pain doc. 200k would crush one doc.
 
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I would also say that it depends upon how "comprehensive" you're going to be. If you're doing basic axial injections, probably 50K. If you're doing pumps and stims, probably more like 125K and access to neurosurgery/ortho spine for referrals.
 
my town is 27k... but there are a lot of 10-15k communities surrounding me... and there are other competitors nearby... if you outshine the competition and market outside of your zone and offer something the competition doesn't, then you could do fine in a very small town.

i have a derm buddy who does Mohs surgery and he practices in a town of 10k... he is raking it in, because he has created a great referral network amongst other generalist derms.
 
I've been researching this question as well. I took a list of 20+ cities I'm considering and looked up how many pain docs were in that area. The average from my poll seems to be around one pain doc for every 20,000 people.
 
I've been researching this question as well. I took a list of 20+ cities I'm considering and looked up how many pain docs were in that area. The average from my poll seems to be around one pain doc for every 20,000 people.

That's a good idea. I've been thinking about doing the same but think it might be difficult. It's not like family practice or orthopedics where you can probably go to a specialty website and find each respective practitioner. Do you think the 1:20,000 number may be underestimated? How'd you figure out which docs are pain docs? Is there a listing in the yellow pages for pain docs, and if so, does that mean they're all interventional?

Nonetheless, I think it's a really good start. Thank you for posting.
 
That's a good idea. I've been thinking about doing the same but think it might be difficult. It's not like family practice or orthopedics where you can probably go to a specialty website and find each respective practitioner. Do you think the 1:20,000 number may be underestimated? How'd you figure out which docs are pain docs? Is there a listing in the yellow pages for pain docs, and if so, does that mean they're all interventional?

Nonetheless, I think it's a really good start. Thank you for posting.

There are lots of ways to research whose working in a particular area. For my elementary search, I just used healthgrades and dexonline. There are also some lists available to buy. As far as identifying which pain doctors are interventional, to really be sure, you’d probably have to call the offices and ask.

My estimates on the population are basically just based on the metro-area population data I found online or from my experience living there. The 20,000 number should probably be larger because of surrounding areas I might not have accounted for.

Here are some links:

Free Lists:
- http://www.healthgrades.com/local-doctors-directory/by-specialty/pain-medicine/
- Dexonline.com


Lists you can pay for:
- InfoUSA
- Doctorlistpro.com
- WebMD
- USdata.com
- SK&A databases
- MMSlists
- American Medical Association book or CD that contains all the addresses of doctors in the US

Website with additional list ideas:
- http://www.pohly.com/companies.html
 
There are lots of ways to research whose working in a particular area. For my elementary search, I just used healthgrades and dexonline. There are also some lists available to buy. As far as identifying which pain doctors are interventional, to really be sure, you’d probably have to call the offices and ask.

My estimates on the population are basically just based on the metro-area population data I found online or from my experience living there. The 20,000 number should probably be larger because of surrounding areas I might not have accounted for.

Here are some links:

Free Lists:
- http://www.healthgrades.com/local-doctors-directory/by-specialty/pain-medicine/
- Dexonline.com


Lists you can pay for:
- InfoUSA
- Doctorlistpro.com
- WebMD
- USdata.com
- SK&A databases
- MMSlists
- American Medical Association book or CD that contains all the addresses of doctors in the US

Website with additional list ideas:
- http://www.pohly.com/companies.html

Great, thanks a lot! You're definitely on top of your game.
 
You can also try your own insurance company and do a search through them.
 
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