The next time you see your doctor, don’t thank him or her just for making you feel better. Also thank your doctor for contributing mightily to the local economy.
 
Physicians nationwide generated $2.3 trillion in economic activity across the country in 2015, according to a new report from the American Medical Association. The 41-page report, The National Economic Impact of Physicians, is based on data from 736,873 doctors practicing in 50 states and the District of Columbia as of December 2015.
 
The report defined economic activity as the total of the direct and indirect value of physicians in four categories: output; jobs; wages and benefits; and state and local tax revenue.
 
The $2.3 trillion includes more than $1 trillion in wages and benefits, $92.9 billion in state and local taxes, and nearly 12.6 million jobs.
 
“The AMA’s economic impact study illustrates that physicians are strong economic drivers that are woven into their local communities by the commerce and jobs they create,” said AMA president David Barbe, M.D., in a press statement. “These quality jobs generate taxes to support schools, housing, transportation and other public services in local communities.”
 
In Minnesota, the 13,401 physicians in practice at the end of 2015 generated $30.5 billion in economic activity over the previous year, according to the report. That averages $2.3 million per physician here compared with $3.2 million per physician nationally. That $30.5 billion figure here includes:
 

• $15.7 billion in wages and benefits
• $1.3 billion in state and local tax revenue
• 171,133 jobs

 
The state with the highest total economic activity was California, where 89,933 doctors contributed $232 billion to the state’s economy.