Rural residence and migration for specialty physician care.
This article describes why rural residents migrate or travel outside their local market area for specialty physician care. Data were collected through a random mail survey of persons residing in Iowa's rural counties. The results imply that migration for specialty care is not simply a function of a low perceived availability of local specialty physicians. Managers of rural and urban health care systems may need to rethink the extent to which specialty physician services should be distributed across rural markets.
Borders
T F
TF
School of Medicine, Texas Tech University HSC, Lubbock, Texas, USA. somtfb@ttuhsc.edu
Rohrer
J E
JE
D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D005191:Family Characteristics; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007484:Iowa; D016015:Logistic Models; D008511:Medicine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011365:Professional Practice Location / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013038:Specialization; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014195:Travel