By Oakley Lowe
For The Signal
We examined which health professionals are the most in demand in each of the 50 US states, by analyzing Google search data.
They considered 92 different types of health professionals such as cardiologists, oncologists, and pediatricians, and looked at the combined searches for ‘specialist’ and ‘specialist near me’ to find which were the most in demand in each state. Salary data for each specialism was also included, which was taken from the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics.
California’s most searched for health specialists are as follows:
1. Optometrist
- Average yearly salary: $125,440
Optometrists specialize in providing primary vision care, and provide eye exams, can prescribe contact lenses as well as identifying common eye conditions such as glaucoma or macular degeneration.
2. Dermatologist
- Average yearly salary: $302,740
Dermatologists diagnose and treat a range of skin, hair, and nail conditions, such as acne, dermatitis, and psoriasis.
3. Psychologist
- Average yearly salary: $98,010
Psychologists work to help diagnose and treat mental health concerns relating to a person’s emotions, thought processes and behaviors. Unlike psychiatrists they are not medical doctors and are not able to administer medication directly as part of their treatment.
4. Psychiatrist
- Average yearly salary: $249,760
Psychiatrists specialize in diagnosing, treating, and preventing mental, behavioral, and emotional disorders such as depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia.
5. Physiotherapist
- Average yearly salary: $92,920
Physiotherapists work with patients to help them manage muscular and joint by improving their mobility and motor function through personalized programs. This often includes stretches, massage or stimulating muscles through movement.
Ana Codallo, who leads the technical teams at Key Opinion Leaders, commented: “Often when seeking a specific medical professional, most people’s first course of action is to consult Google for those practicing locally, either within our county or statewide.
“By analyzing the number of searches for each ‘specialist’ and ‘specialist near me’ we were able to get a good picture of which health professionals are most in demand by the general public,” she added.
“California was the only state searching for optometrists the most, with dermatologists being the most frequently searched for specialist in every other state.”
“The demand for dermatologists state-wide may be due, in part, to a growing number of people seeking treatment for acne,” Ana says, “which is considered the most common skin problem in the US, affecting up to 50 million Americans every year.
“In fact, approximately 85% of people between the ages of 12 to 24 have experienced at least minor acne at some point, according to the American Academy of Dermatology.”
The study was conducted by KeyOpinionLeaders.com, a free search engine that lets users find Key Opinion Leaders. Searching any concept on the site enables users to find the top Key Opinion Leaders instantly for that concept, while they can also filter results by other concepts, organizations, and locations.
