CV Transforum Spring’26 Trending Takeaways: Workforce Reality, Subspecialty Strategy and the First Look at 2025 MedAxcess Data

News | Published: Friday, May 1, 2026

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The cardiovascular workforce is under pressure. Physician shortages, unfilled fellowships, subspecialization growth, and increasing reliance on advanced practice providers (APPs) are reshaping access, productivity and financial sustainability.

At CV Transforum Spring’26, MedAxiom experts Karen Wilson, MHA, vice president of Member Services, and Joel Sauer, MBA, executive vice president of Care Transformation Services, presented a first look at 2025 MedAxcess data, highlighting trends in physician subspecialty mix, APP deployment, patient panel management and evolving production patterns.

They also debuted newly segmented benchmarking data for academic programs, offering clear insights into differences in compensation and work relative value unit (wRVU) production.

This story provides a glimpse at the initial 2025 findings. The MedAxcess data will be subject to change as more programs submit data in upcoming months.

Preliminary Findings

• Demand continues to outpace physician supply.
  • Patient demand remains steady and is not slowing down.
• Workforce growth is not keeping pace.
  • Provider supply is not increasing at the same rate as demand​.
• Programs are absorbing growth but not with physicians.
  • APP growth has been steady and does not show signs of leveling. Will it hold?
  • APP use varies by subspecialty, reflecting where capacity is needed most.
• More work is being done per patient.
  • More work per patient​ + More patients​ = Higher output per physician.
  • Total program wRVUs per cardiologist FTE continue to rise.
• Physicians are not carrying the growth alone.
  • APP contributions are a key driver of total program productivity​.
  • All subspecialties show productivity growth, but where that productivity comes from differs significantly​.
• Electrophysiology is heavily driven by procedures and device management.
• Interventional work is procedural, but more balanced general cardiology is driven by evaluation and management (E/M) and imaging.
• Heart failure is E/M heavy.

What the Preliminary Data Mean for Cardiovascular Leaders

• Demand continues to outpace physician supply.
• Care models – not just staffing – will determine capacity​.
• Subspecialty mix influences how your program operates and performs.
• Understanding your subspecialty mix – and need – is critical to decision-making.

Key Takeaways

• Patient panels are growing​.
  • You will be caring for more patients per cardiologist!​
  • This presents an opportunity – seize it!
• Not all subspecialties are created equally​.
  • There are different concentrations of work in different clinical domains​.
  • Subspecialties evolve over time​.
  • Subspecialties impact care team needs​.
• APPs play a critical role in panel management​.
  • This role has a growing prevalence in cardiology​ and is part of an expanding care team.
• MedAxcess can help in your care team design.
  • The MedAxiom team can help you understand your subspecialty needs and how you compare to benchmarking data.

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