2017 to 2023 Saw Decrease in Family Doctors Practicing in Rural Areas

MONDAY, Dec. 8, 2025 (HealthDay News) — During 2017 to 2023, there was a year-over-year decrease in family physicians practicing in rural areas in the United States, according to a study published in the November/December issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.

Colleen T. Fogarty, M.D., from the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, and colleagues identified actively practicing U.S. family physicians and their region of practice during 2017 to 2023.

The researchers identified a year-over-year reduction in family physicians practicing in rural areas, with a net loss of 11 percent nationwide (from 11,847 to 10,544 rural family physicians). The greatest percentage loss of rural family physicians was seen in the Northeast, and the least percentage loss was seen in the West.

“Despite decades of programs to develop the rural workforce, our study identifies an ongoing loss of rural practicing FPs [family physicians]. Rural communities bear a disproportionate burden of poor health outcomes; the loss of FPs will exacerbate this disparity,” the authors write.

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