April 2001 • Volume 7 • Number 4
Specialty's critical role
How critical are family physicians to the nation's health?
- In one recent study, the majority of Americans who reported an individual as their usual source of medical care identified the source as a family physician.
- Another study showed what would happen if all family physicians and general practitioners were erased from the nation's health care picture. With FPs and GPs in place, 784 of the nation's 3,082 counties are considered whole-county primary care health professions shortage areas, or HPSAs. Delete the FPs and GPs, and the number would jump to 2,116 counties (see story, "More funds needed for family practice training, AHRQ, rural programs, says AAFP").
For comparison, if the other kinds of physicians who provide primary care -- pediatricians, internists and obstetricians/gynecologists -- were erased from the picture, the number of whole-county primary care HPSAs would only rise to 960.
Source: The Robert Graham Center (http://www.aafppolicy.org/onepagers)
FP Report is published by the AAFP News Department.
Copyright © 2001 by American Academy of Family Physicians.
FP Report | Headlines |AAFP Home | Search