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

National totals

What this specialty covers

An internist who treats disorders of the kidney, high blood pressure, fluid and mineral balance and dialysis of body wastes when the kidneys do not function. This specialist consults with surgeons about kidney transplantation.

Reading the sole-proprietor share

For this specialty, 1,955 records, or 13.9%, are flagged as sole proprietors in NPPES. This self-reported field can inform questions about independent practice, but it is an imperfect proxy for private practice because it does not fully describe ownership, employment, or group arrangements.

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 counts measure records, not clinical full-time equivalents, patient volume, or service capacity.
• The primary taxonomy reflects an NPPES classification and may not capture every provider who practices nephrology or distinguish clinical focus.
• 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