Clinic staffing falls as provider workloads climb

Medical groups are being asked to do more with less, and new data from AMGA show just how thin clinic support has become.

The AMGA 2026 Medical Clinic Staffing Survey, conducted by AMGA Consulting, found that median total clinic staff per provider FTE fell to 2.17. That level had held steady at 2.29 for the three previous survey years. The steepest declines came in clinical support and ancillary roles. At the same time, the AMGA 2026 Medical Group Compensation and Productivity Survey showed that provider wRVUs rose 2.4% and patient visits rose 2% over the preceding year.

The survey also shows the care team changing shape. Medical groups are relying more on medical assistants as nursing levels decline, and some functions are being centralized within larger health systems. Advanced practice clinicians now make up nearly half of clinic providers, part of a broader shift that has seen nonphysician clinicians grow to more than 40% of the U.S. health care workforce. The support staff around those providers, however, hasn’t grown to match.

The strain is showing up in turnover. Clinics reported median total turnover of 13%, and medical assistants left at the highest rate. For practice owners, that makes weighing staff raises against the cost of turnover a more pressing calculation.