Increase in the number of female physicians and the geographical maldistribution of physicians in Japan

Abstract

BACKGROUND: In recent years, the geographical maldistribution of physicians has become a major problem in Japan, and prefectures are formulating plans to secure additional physicians. During the same period, the percentage of female physicians in Japan has been continuously increasing, and they now account for 40 % of the total enrollment in medical schools. The purpose of this study is to clarify the impact of the increasing proportion of female physicians on the maldistribution of physicians. METHODS: We used individual data from the surveys of physicians, dentists, and pharmacists from 1996 to 2018 and government-aggregated data with the same statistics from 1996 to 2020. The Gini coefficient was used to measure geographic maldistribution. Physicians were divided into four groups according to age and gender: men under 40, females under 40, men over 40, and females over 40, and the temporal trends in the maldistribution and contribution ratio of each group were calculated. RESULTS: Physician geographical maldistribution worsened after 2006 and continued to worsen until 2016. The contribution ratio of female physicians to the worsening geographical maldistribution exceeded 100 % for both under 40 and over 40 age groups. However, geographical maldistribution within female physicians has become more stable in recent years. Conclusion: The large contribution of the female physician group to the deterioration of the Gini coefficient for all physicians may be due to the greater weight of these groups. However, the Gini coefficient for the female group tended to be stable.