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5.4.1 Share of Adults with a Personal Healthcare Provider
Why is this important?
The number of primary care physicians compared to the entire population is one measure of healthcare access. The rate helps to determine whether the number of practicing health providers is sufficient, given the size of the population needing care. Of particular importance are primary care providers. The availability of primary care providers especially in low-income and rural communities is a critical condition to assure access to primary and preventive care. In addition, health care reforms have elevated the roles of primary care physicians as key to prevention, and thereby better health.
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has forecasted a shortfall of physicians in the United States in 2034 as: "...primary care physicians of between 17,800 and 48,000... across the nonprimary care specialties of between 21,000 and 77,100b." This is due to a combination of factors – retirements from the physician workforce, population growth, healthcare reform, and the aging population.
This indicator measures the share of residents in Skagit County who have a personal health care physician. Washington State and the U.S. are offered as benchmarks.
Where are we?
In 2022, the share of adults with a primary health care provider in:
- Skagit County was 83.6%, increasing from 72.2% in 2012.
- Washington State was 82.8%, increasing from 75.5% in 2012.
Data Sources
