U.S. Primary Care Doctor Supply Has Improved But Not Everywhere

The nation’s supply of primary care physicians is helping Americans live longer but a sliding “per capita supply” is a worrisome trend for U.S. population health, new research in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine shows.

The new JAMA Internal Medicine report showed just 10 additional primary care doctors per 100,000 people “was associated with reduced cardiovascular, cancer, and respiratory mortality by 0.9% to 1.4%.”

“Greater primary care physician supply was associated with lower mortality, but per capita supply decreased between 2005 and 2015,” Dr. Sanjay Basu of Stanford University and coauthors wrote in Tuesday’s JAMA report.