Rural Americans face critical shortage of primary care providers

Rural Americans account for about 20 percent of the U.S. population, but are served by only 9 percent of the country's physicians, and the discrepancy is expected to increase as fewer medical students choose primary care or have an appreciation of rural life, Melissa Florell of the Center for Rural Affairs reports.

"Rural America faces a critical shortage of primary care providers, jeopardizing the nation’s ability to meet the health care needs of the rural population," Florell writes. She adds that shortages exist in every sector of the primary care workforce (doctors, nurses, physician's assistants) in rural America. Rural residents also require care for diabetes and heart disease in greater numbers per capita than urban residents.

Health-care homes, where clinicians can account for a large number of health care needs in the context of family and community, have been suggested as a solution for the rural health crisis by the National Rural Health Association, Florell reports, adding these homes would not eliminate the need of rural residents to travel to see specialists but would provide a home base for their health care." The Health Access and Health Professionals Supply Act of 2009," currently being discussed in the Senate, would provide opportunities and incentives for health care in rural areas. (Read more)