Where does your state rank in physician access?

IRVING, Texas — As such convenient care options as retail clinics, telehealth services and urgent care clinics proliferate, physician search firm Merritt Hawkins has creaated its Physician Access Index, which ranks states based on 33 variables to show which have the best — and worst — access to physicians. The index shows that Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Delaware and Maryland have the most positive physician access variables, while Mississippi, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada and Oklahoma have the fewest.

 

“When it comes to accessing physicians, not all places or all patients are equal,” stated Mark Smith, president of Merritt Hawkins. “As the healthcare system evolves, there will be clear access 'haves' and access 'have-nots,' and the rankings reflects these imbalances.”

 

The index tracks such metrics as physicians per capita, the percentage of residents with health insurance, Medicare and Medicaid acceptance rates, household income and telehealth access, among others, on a state-by-state basis. Each state is given a score for each metric; these scores are added together, with lower scores meaning better physician access. For example, the top state, Massachusetts, has a total score of 442 points, whereas Oklahoma — the lowest-ranked state on the index — has a score of 1096. 

 

But these scores only show an overview of a given state, Smith said, noting that other factors influence access within states. Though New York is ranked 11th best for physician access, it ranks 34th in percent of mental health care needs met. And New Mexico, which ranks 47th in the overall rankings, ranks sixth in patient encounters per capita in federally qualified health centers, which Merritt Hawkins said suggests a solid safety net for underserved patients. 

 

“No state is without its challenges and strong points where physician access is concerned,” Smith said. “There are pockets of patients with poor physician access in highly ranked states and pockets of patients with good physician access in states with low rankings.”

 

The data, then, can bve used to show what challenges are facing states when it comes to healthcare access for their residents. Though issues like poverty and low per capita income are issues that won’t resolve overnight, Smith said that funding residency positions, and investing in such retention incentives as educational loan repayment could help with physician retention rates. Additionally, Smith said, states that haven't yet can work to reduce barriers to telehealth implementation, expand the practice parameters of NPs and PAs, and expand eligibility requirements for Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act. 

 

For more insights, see the infographic below.