The Supply of Rural Physicians-Reply

Abstract

In Reply. —Drs Evans and Loge raise the important question of what constitutes the optimal mix of physician specialties in rural areas. Our study demonstrates that family physicians are much more likely than graduates of other disciplines to choose to practice in rural counties—particularly in small isolated rural counties—but the fact remains that the majority of physicians in rural America belong to other specialties. Rural communities need a balanced supply of physicians from a spectrum of disciplines, and general surgeons and general internists have a vital contribution to make to rural America. To the extent, however, that individual academic medical centers wish to increase the total supply of rural physicians within their service areas, investment in family medicine training is likely to produce the largest and most immediate dividends. We doubt that misclassifications account for the decline in the number and proportion of recent medical school graduates that identify themselves as general