Insurers will balance the cost of sending patients to podiatrists against the cost and availability of substitute practitioners, such as physicians and physical therapists. Opportunities for newly trained podiatrists will be better in group medical practices, clinics, and health networks than in a traditional solo practice. Establishing a practice will be most difficult in the areas surrounding colleges of podiatric medicine because podiatrists are concentrated in these locations. Relatively few job openings from this source are expected, however, because the occupation is small. However, only about one-half of podiatrists were salaried in 1998.
Salaried podiatrists tend to earn less than self-employed podiatrists.
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