AMGA survey finds clinic staff per provider falling as workloads rise

AMGA Consulting's 2026 Medical Clinic Staffing Survey, which compiles 2025 data from more than 6,500 clinics and more than 30,000 physicians and advanced practice clinicians, finds median total clinic staff per provider FTE fell to 2.17. That is down 0.12 in one year after holding at 2.29 for three straight survey years (Becker's Hospital Review). Clinical support staff (registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and medical assistants) fell from 1.48 to 1.29 FTEs per provider. Over the same period, AMGA's companion compensation and productivity survey recorded a 2.4% rise in wRVUs and a 2% rise in patient visits.

The composition of the team is changing too. Since 2023, medical assistants per provider rose from 0.77 to 0.88, while registered nurses fell from 0.33 to 0.26 and licensed practical nurses dropped from 0.27 to 0.13 (Medical Economics). Medical Economics reports that triage calls, patient education, care coordination and some chronic care follow-up move to whoever is left, often the physician or APC. APCs now make up a median 48.8% of clinic providers, and AMGA Consulting director Beth Pittman said the support staff around them "hasn't grown to match."

The cost shows up in retention. Median total clinic turnover was 13%, with medical assistants highest at 16.4%, front desk and support staff at 15.4% and registered nurses at 12.7% (Becker's Hospital Review). Medical Economics cites a national average replacement cost of 16% to 20% of salary for medical employees earning under $75,000. Matthew Wells of AMGA Consulting warned that without deliberate team design, strain will appear in access, turnover and patient experience.

Benchmarks vary by setting: 2.39 staff per provider in primary care, 2.00 in medical specialties and 2.01 in surgical specialties, and 2.63 for independent groups versus 2.11 for system-affiliated groups. These are survey medians. They do not measure patient outcomes, and they say nothing about whether any specific tool restores capacity.

The move: compare your support staff per provider against the AMGA benchmark for your specialty and ownership type. Then inventory the work physicians and APCs have absorbed, such as refills, callbacks, inbox messages and triage, and target AI tools at those tasks with a measured baseline for time returned to clinicians. Pair that with retention: Medical Economics reports one former administrator's case that a modest bonus, such as $2,000 paid at six and 12 months, can cost less than repeatedly refilling a medical assistant role.

You are an operations advisor to the COO and executive team of a medical group.

Context: AMGA Consulting's 2026 Medical Clinic Staffing Survey compiles 2025 data from more than 6,500 clinics and more than 30,000 physicians and advanced practice clinicians, as reported by Becker's Hospital Review and Medical Economics. Median total clinic staff per provider FTE fell to 2.17. That is down 0.12 in one year after holding at 2.29 for three straight survey years. Clinical support staff fell from 1.48 to 1.29 FTEs per provider, while wRVUs rose 2.4% and patient visits rose 2%. The benchmarks are 2.39 in primary care, 2.00 in medical specialties and 2.01 in surgical specialties. They are 2.63 for independent groups versus 2.11 for system-affiliated groups. Medical Economics reports that triage calls, patient education, care coordination and some chronic care follow-up shift to the physician or APC. Median total clinic turnover was 13%, and medical assistants were highest at 16.4%. These are survey medians. They do not measure patient outcomes, and they do not show that any tool restores capacity.

Task: Compare our support staff per provider with the AMGA benchmark for our specialty and ownership type. Then inventory the work our physicians and APCs have absorbed, such as refills, callbacks, inbox messages and triage. Propose where AI tools could be piloted, and give each pilot a baseline measure of clinician time returned.

Output: A one-page memo for the executive team with these sections: Where We Stand Against AMGA, Work Clinicians Have Absorbed, Candidate AI Pilots and Baselines, Retention Link, Open Questions.

My inputs: [your organization], [your specialty mix], [independent or system-affiliated], [your total clinic staff FTE], [your provider FTE], [your current medical assistant turnover], [the inbox and callback volume per provider you track].

Guardrails: Use only the facts above and the inputs I fill in. Cite Becker's Hospital Review and Medical Economics by name. Flag anything uncertain or that needs verifying. Use no patient data. This is not medical advice. Label the memo as a draft for the team to check.