Table 2.
Percentage of Communities with Nonfederal Physician Specialty Services in 1979 and 1999
| Population in Thousands | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Specialty | No. of FTE Physicians | 2.5–5 | 5–10 | 10–20 | 20–30 | 30–50 | 50–200 | 200+ |
| Group 1 | ||||||||
| General and family practice | ||||||||
| 1979 | 11,869 | 86 | 96 | 99 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 1999 | 21,919 | 91 | 96 | 99 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Group 2 | ||||||||
| Internal medicine | ||||||||
| 1979 | 9,467 | 23 | 52 | 84 | 97 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 1999 | 20,654 | 41 | 69 | 93 | 98 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| General surgery | ||||||||
| 1979 | 6,071 | 44 | 77 | 96 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 1999 | 5,275 | 38 | 63 | 88 | 97 | 98 | 100 | 100 |
| Obstetrics–gynecology | ||||||||
| 1979 | 3,978 | 15 | 35 | 77 | 97 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 1999 | 7,092 | 15 | 41 | 82 | 98 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Psychiatry | ||||||||
| 1979 | 3,203 | 9 | 17 | 40 | 59 | 96 | 100 | 100 |
| 1999 | 6,155 | 9 | 26 | 53 | 85 | 98 | 100 | 100 |
| Pediatrics | ||||||||
| 1979 | 3,429 | 12 | 25 | 68 | 92 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 1999 | 9,356 | 16 | 43 | 84 | 97 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Radiology | ||||||||
| 1979 | 3,042 | 9 | 30 | 73 | 97 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 1999 | 4,909 | 13 | 36 | 68 | 92 | 98 | 100 | 100 |
| Group 3 | ||||||||
| Anesthesiology | ||||||||
| 1979 | 2,303 | 11 | 19 | 40 | 83 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 1999 | 5,914 | 7 | 20 | 64 | 83 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Orthopedic surgery | ||||||||
| 1979 | 2,409 | 7 | 17 | 47 | 88 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 1999 | 3,927 | 7 | 28 | 69 | 94 | 98 | 100 | 100 |
| Ophthalmology | ||||||||
| 1979 | 2,147 | 4 | 14 | 62 | 89 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 1999 | 3,328 | 3 | 18 | 60 | 89 | 98 | 100 | 100 |
| Pathology | ||||||||
| 1979 | 1,840 | 4 | 15 | 50 | 85 | 95 | 100 | 100 |
| 1999 | 2,747 | 4 | 13 | 49 | 74 | 89 | 100 | 100 |
| Urology | ||||||||
| 1979 | 1,340 | 2 | 10 | 47 | 89 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 1999 | 1,879 | 2 | 13 | 57 | 78 | 95 | 100 | 100 |
| Otolaryngology | ||||||||
| 1979 | 1,127 | 2 | 6 | 29 | 79 | 98 | 98 | 100 |
| 1999 | 1,685 | 1 | 10 | 46 | 74 | 93 | 100 | 100 |
| Dermatology | ||||||||
| 1979 | 795 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 59 | 96 | 98 | 100 |
| 1999 | 1,475 | 2 | 7 | 33 | 57 | 96 | 100 | 100 |
| Group 4 | ||||||||
| Neurology | ||||||||
| 1979 | 724 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 24 | 70 | 98 | 100 |
| 1999 | 1,901 | 1 | 7 | 28 | 63 | 88 | 98 | 100 |
| Neurosurgery | ||||||||
| 1979 | 523 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 56 | 88 | 100 |
| 1999 | 936 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 23 | 52 | 90 | 100 |
| Plastic surgery | ||||||||
| 1979 | 430 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 20 | 46 | 83 | 100 |
| 1999 | 1,020 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 37 | 73 | 96 | 100 |
| Any physician | ||||||||
| 1979 | 58,911 | 92 | 98 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 1999 | 119,109 | 94 | 97 | 99 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| No. of towns | ||||||||
| 1979 | 644 | 379 | 206 | 66 | 57 | 40 | 34 | |
| 1999 | 582 | 413 | 235 | 65 | 56 | 52 | 41 | |
Source: Authors' calculations using AMA Masterfile data, U.S. Census data, and Newhouse et al. (1982c). The states included in the sample are: AL, AK, CO, GA, IA, ID, KA, LA, ME, MN, MO, MS, MT, ND, NE, NH, OK, SD, TN, UT, VT, WI, and WY.
FTE, full-time equivalent; AMA, American Medical Association.