As medicine evolves, new types of doctors are emerging to meet the changing needs. In some cases, these clinicians are in new specialties that didn’t exist until recently, and the demand for some of these physicians is already high. (Source: Verity Stream’s Trends That Will Shape a New Decade in Healthcare)

The Association of American Medical Colleges (2019) identified these five new physician specialties that match where healthcare is headed:

  1. new physician specialtiesCancer Immunologist – This doctor will be adept at harnessing a patient’s individual immune system to fight cancer while avoiding or treating immune system overreactions and treatment-triggered diseases.
  2. Nocturnist – Increasingly medically complex patients need the care continuity of doctors who practice hospital medicine primarily at night, a key addition to the level of safety and service offered.
  3. Lifestyle Medicine Physician – 80% of healthcare costs are connected to care for chronic diseases, and 80% of chronic disease is related to lifestyle choice. A lifestyle medicine specialist oversees a patient’s food choices, exercise, sleep, stress levels, and ability to connect with others, whether in a primary care environment, lifestyle medicine clinic, or residential care facility. The demand to sit for this certification exam is exploding.
  4. Clinical Informatics – This specialist collects and analyzes patients’ health information and applies those insights to improve patient health. Growth in this area is related to provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the proliferation of electronic health records (EHRs). The goal is to use the volumes of medical data now being generated to make better clinical decisions and guide research efforts.
  5. Medical Virtualist – This physician provides telehealth services, a sector of healthcare delivery that is expected to rise 30% each year between 2017 and 2022. Early uses include second-opinion consults, as well as telepsychiatry and telestroke services. Health systems are just beginning to add telehealth to their service mix, for primary care triage, specialty consults, and virtual rounding. The ability to create a successful telehealth experience for patients will be a key competency for this specialty (AAMC, 2019).