Doctors in Kentucky: 8,733 enrolled in Medicare
Kentucky has 8,733 MD and DO clinicians enrolled in Medicare in the CMS file dated Aug 18, 2026: 190 per 100,000 residents, 37th of 51 (the states and DC), against 214 for the US. The most are in Louisville, 2,150 in our physician files. Per capita Kentucky is strongest in nurse practitioners (3rd, 142 per 100,000).
By Ryan Doyle, founder of Doctor Email List. Published Oct 5, 2026.
Kentucky physicians by specialty
Every specialty with at least one clinician in Kentucky, largest first. Rank is among the states and DC (51 in all) by clinicians per 100,000 residents. Where we have a state page or a list for the specialty, the name links to it.
| Specialty | Kentucky | Per 100,000 | Rank | US per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nurse Practitioners | 6,534 | 142 | 3rd | 83.7 |
| Physician Assistants | 1,396 | 30.4 | 42nd | 40.8 |
| Family Physicians | 1,308 | 28.5 | 32nd | 28.7 |
| Internal Medicine Physicians | 1,205 | 26.3 | 28th | 30.9 |
| Optometrists | 595 | 13.0 | 21st | 10.9 |
| Emergency Physicians | 570 | 12.4 | 37th | 13.5 |
| Chiropractors | 534 | 11.6 | 25th | 11.8 |
| Radiologists | 486 | 10.6 | 26th | 11.1 |
| Anesthesiologists | 441 | 9.6 | 45th | 13.3 |
| OB/GYNs | 437 | 9.5 | 30th | 10.1 |
| Cardiologists | 378 | 8.2 | 25th | 8.7 |
| Orthopedic Surgeons | 333 | 7.3 | 33rd | 7.4 |
| General Surgeons | 333 | 7.3 | 28th | 6.9 |
| Neurologists | 292 | 6.4 | 13th | 5.5 |
| Hospitalists | 280 | 6.1 | 34th | 7.1 |
| Psychiatrists | 254 | 5.5 | 44th | 8.4 |
| Pediatricians | 214 | 4.7 | 14th | 3.8 |
| Ophthalmologists | 206 | 4.5 | 30th | 5.3 |
| Oncologists | 195 | 4.2 | 34th | 5.0 |
| Gastroenterologists | 183 | 4.0 | 30th | 4.7 |
| Pulmonologists | 158 | 3.4 | 23rd | 3.4 |
| Podiatrists | 154 | 3.4 | 35th | 4.7 |
| Pathologists | 150 | 3.3 | 35th | 3.8 |
| Urologists | 124 | 2.7 | 37th | 3.0 |
| Nephrologists | 123 | 2.7 | 26th | 2.9 |
| Dermatologists | 121 | 2.6 | 44th | 4.0 |
| ENTs | 106 | 2.3 | 45th | 2.9 |
| Physiatrists | 90 | 2.0 | 39th | 2.7 |
| Pain Management Physicians | 84 | 1.8 | 6th | 1.4 |
| Neurosurgeons | 81 | 1.8 | 24th | 1.7 |
| Infectious Disease Physicians | 77 | 1.7 | 39th | 2.1 |
| Radiation Oncologists | 71 | 1.5 | 28th | 1.6 |
| Cardiothoracic Surgeons | 70 | 1.5 | 10th | 1.2 |
| Endocrinologists | 69 | 1.5 | 37th | 2.1 |
| Rheumatologists | 64 | 1.4 | 31st | 1.6 |
| Critical care physicians | 59 | 1.3 | 34th | 1.8 |
| Vascular Surgeons | 56 | 1.2 | 20th | 1.2 |
| Plastic Surgeons | 50 | 1.1 | 37th | 1.4 |
| General practice physicians | 41 | 0.9 | 19th | 1.2 |
| Sports medicine physicians | 36 | 0.8 | 21st | 0.7 |
| Allergists | 32 | 0.7 | 42nd | 1.1 |
| Hospice and palliative care physicians | 28 | 0.6 | 26th | 0.7 |
| Colorectal surgeons | 17 | 0.4 | 34th | 0.5 |
| Addiction medicine physicians | 15 | 0.3 | 10th | 0.2 |
| Geriatric medicine physicians | 14 | 0.3 | 39th | 0.6 |
| Sleep medicine physicians | 12 | 0.3 | 32nd | 0.3 |
| Preventive medicine physicians | 10 | 0.2 | 9th | 0.2 |
| Osteopathic manipulative medicine physicians | 8 | 0.2 | 33rd | 0.3 |
| Nuclear medicine physicians | 8 | 0.2 | 21st | 0.2 |
| Hematologists | 7 | 0.2 | 35th | 0.3 |
| Micrographic dermatologic surgeons | 4 | 0.1 | 43rd | 0.2 |
Counts are one row per NPI under the clinician's primary Medicare specialty, from the CMS file dated Aug 18, 2026. Rates use the Census Bureau's July 2024 estimate for Kentucky. Nurse practitioners, physician assistants, chiropractors and optometrists have their own files and are not in the MD and DO total.
Where Kentucky physicians practice
In the 8,352 clinicians Kentucky has across the physician specialty files we sell, counted once each, 32% are women and 17% offer telehealth. The median graduation year is 2005. These are the cities with the most of them.
| City | Clinicians | Share of Kentucky |
|---|---|---|
| Louisville | 2,150 | 26% |
| Lexington | 1,502 | 18% |
| Bowling Green | 317 | 3.8% |
| Elizabethtown | 254 | 3% |
| Owensboro | 253 | 3% |
Largest practice groups in Kentucky
Groups ranked by the number of Kentucky clinicians the CMS file lists under them. 83% of Kentucky physicians with a group on file are in a group of 50 or more listed clinicians, against 80% across the US.
| Practice or health system, as CMS prints it | Kentucky clinicians listed |
|---|---|
| Baptist Health Medical Group Inc | 991 |
| Kentucky Medical Services Foundation, Inc | 770 |
| University of Louisville Physicians Inc | 713 |
| Community Medical Associates Inc | 498 |
| Summit Medical Group Inc | 307 |
A health system can appear under more than one legal name, so a group here may be part of a larger one.
Questions about Kentucky doctors
8,733 MD and DO clinicians in Kentucky are enrolled in Medicare in the CMS file dated Aug 18, 2026, one per NPI, in the state of their main practice location. That is 190 per 100,000 residents, 37th of 51 among the states and DC. Physicians who bill no Medicare patients are not in the file.
Nurse Practitioners are the largest group in Kentucky, with 6,534, then physician assistants with 1,396. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants are counted in their own files and are not in the MD and DO total.
We sell national lists, one CSV per specialty for $295, or every specialty in one file for $995. We don't sell a state-only file. City, state and ZIP are on nearly every row, so keeping the Kentucky rows is one filter in any spreadsheet.
States with a similar count per capita
Specialty email lists
National CSVs, one per specialty. City, state and ZIP are on the rows, so any state is one filter away.