Supply of Healthcare Providers in Relation to County Socioeconomic and Health Status

Non-physician clinicians now constitute nearly one-quarter of the US primary care workforce, and as such are expected to play a significant role in offsetting projected physician shortfalls. It has long been recognized that the per capita availability of physicians varies substantially across regions, and that physicians tend to locate in more affluent locales rather than areas of greatest need. Less is known about the practice location of non-physician clinicians and whether they exhibit similar patterns to those of physicians. Therefore, we examined the relationship of nurse practitioner and physician assistant supply with local socioeconomic and health status. As an example of a healthcare profession that operates outside the traditional medical system, 80% of whom operate as small business owners, we also examined the distribution of US chiropractors.