The number of physicians on boards shot up in 2020. Some recruiters say this is part of a trend that has been on the rise for the past decade or longer, while others link the jump to the pandemic.

In 2020, there were 578 medical doctors on Russell 3000 boards, up from 484 in 2019 and 438 the year prior, according to data from public company intelligence provider MyLogIQ. Some of those individuals serve on multiple boards, bringing the total number of board positions filled by doctors to 502, 596 and 711 for the past three years, respectively.

“We have seen explosive growth in the number of health care sector companies in the Russell 3000 Index, so it makes sense that we are seeing more director positions occupied by medical doctors,” says Ganesh Rajappan, CEO and founder of MyLogIQ. “It’s too early to determine if Covid is driving a new wave of physician directors. We will have to wait for next year’s reported data to see if there is an uptick.”