Anatomic Pathology Physician: how many are there, and how many are in private practice?

National totals

What this specialty covers

A pathologist deals with the causes and nature of disease and contributes to diagnosis, prognosis and treatment through knowledge gained by the laboratory application of the biologic, chemical and physical sciences. A pathologist uses information gathered from the microscopic examination of tissue specimens, cells and body fluids, and from clinical laboratory tests on body fluids and secretions for the diagnosis, exclusion and monitoring of disease.

Reading the sole-proprietor share

For this specialty, 382 of 2,790 active records, or 13.7%, are flagged as sole proprietors in NPPES. The flag is a self-reported NPPES field and an imperfect proxy for private practice. It does not by itself show whether a physician owns a practice, works independently, is employed by a group or hospital, or works within a pathology laboratory arrangement.

By state

New NPI registrations by year

Counts reflect the year each NPI was first issued, among records still active today. The final year is partial: this data covers through 2026-01-11.

Data notes

• The sole-proprietor field is self-reported by the provider in NPPES and is an imperfect proxy for private practice.
• A sole-proprietor count shown as <11 is suppressed: the true value is below 11, which could include zero.
• NPI records are administrative records and do not measure patient volume, full-time clinical work, or unique practice locations.
• State counts use NPPES address information and may not represent the location of every service delivered.
• An enumeration year shows when an NPI was first issued, not necessarily when a physician entered this specialty or began practicing.
• Providers are counted once, by their primary taxonomy code only.

Source: CMS National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES) Data Dissemination file, FOIA-disclosable public data under CMS-6060-N. Aggregated by Hero EMR on 2026-08-03; deactivated NPIs excluded; specialty assigned from the primary taxonomy code (NUCC 25.1). Counts below 11 are suppressed. Individual providers are never published. All provider data pages.

Common questions