Orthopedic issues are the most common reason U.S. patients seek medical care, according to a Definitive Healthcare report.
Four things to know about orthopedic surgeons:
1. There are more than 30,500 orthopedic surgeons in the U.S., and about half report having a subspecialty.
2. The most common orthopedic subspecialties are sports medicine, hand surgery and joint replacement, according to Definitive Healthcare physician data.
3. The total number of knee replacements has increased more than 300 percent since 2005, and is expected to increase to more than 200,000 procedures annually by 2030.
4. According to a Merritt Hawkins report, orthopedics is the 10th most in-demand specialty in the U.S.