Rural Tennessee Pediatrician Shortages
Tennessee's supply of pediatricians are not proportionately distributed between urban and rural areas.
Source: 2004 Tennessee Health Access Plan Update
In 2003, there were a total of 1,108 FTE general pediatric physicians estimated to be actively practicing direct pediatric primary care in the state. Of this total, 718, or 65 percent, were reportedly practicing in the four metropolitan counties of Davidson, Knox, Hamilton, and Shelby.
- Thirty-five percent (or 390) of the pediatric providers were practicing in the rural counties.
- However, 62 percent of the pediatric population resided in the 91 rural counties.
In 2004, there were a total of 681.0 FTE self-reported general pediatric physicians actively practicing direct primary care in the state. Of this total, 284, or 41.7%, were reportedly practicing in the four metro counties, while 397, or 58.4%, were practicing in the rural counties.
Comments: The 2004 data indicate that the disparity between rural population and rural pediatrician supply began to equalize somewhat. However, these data also suggest that the number of urban pediatricians dropped from 718 to 284 in a one year period, which seems erroneous.
