Physician Distribution By Concentration Atlas

The PDC system codes physicians by concentrations of physicians, not concentrations of income or people. It is a true physician distribution coding system. Physicians coded by concentrations have predictable practice locations and careers.

pdccode.GIF The Physician Distribution by Concentration coding system is compared across percentages of physicians, land area, population, and family physicians found in Super Center, Major Center, Marginal Urban, Underserved Urban, Marginal Rural, and Rural Underserved practice zip codes. Areas inside of concentrations have higher ratios of physicians to population. Areas outside of concentrations have greater ratios of population to physicians.

PDCfpgpPC.GIF Family practice physicians are closely associated to the US Population While Other Physicians and Other Primary Care Physicians are found in top concentrations of physicians and health resources away from 65% of the Population. Also see PDCFPGPtoPop.GIF Other Graphics of PDCLandPhysPop.GIF include land area comparisons.

FMOriginFourOutside.GIF Family physicians are tracked from birth origins to the four practice locations outside of concentrations where health access workforce is most needed.

UrbUnderSpecOrigin.GIF The five physician specialty groups are tracked with regard to urban underserved location. Family practice contributions are dramatically different compared to other groupings including internal medicine and pediatric physicians, hospital support physicians, general types of specialists, and subspecialists. When family practice choice is combined with origins outside of top concentrations (65% outside), most needed health access career choice is maximized. Most needed health access contributions are also found for Marginal Rural Locations MargRuralSpecOrigin.GIF and Rural Underserved Locations RurUnderSpecOrigin.GIF The theme of most needed health access arising from origins outside of concentrations, older age graduates, family physicians, and physicians from more normal (less exclusive) training is supported. Exclusive origins, training, and career choices shape physicians away from most needed health access.

pdcbydoc.GIF What physicians and physician leaders see or perceive is very different compared to the US population. About 75% of physicians are found in 4% of the land area in super center or major center practice zip codes. Physicians with more exclusive careers and those associated with medical schools have an even greater distortion compared to normal American populations. Medical and medical education leaders see from the Super Center medical school perspective with a small fraction of the US population and primary care and a large fraction of the hospital, specialty, and health resource components. When physician leaders see primary care as "not marketable" to the American people, they fail to see from the perspective of the 65% outside of physician concentrations that absolutely depend upon primary care for most of their health care. They fail to see from the perspective of the elderly most likely to be outside of physician concentrations at a period of life when their primary care needs will nearly quadruple. What physicians (and politicians) see is often related to concentrations of physicians, people, and resources. What the people of the United States see is very different, and a poor fit for their needs, and current controversies are only a small consequence of differences in perspective.

pdcland.GIF The Physician Distribution by Concentration coding system is compared across land area illustrating concentrations of physicians in a small fraction of the land area with populations outside of concentration spread over 96% of the land area. Health care delivery is compromised for most of the land area and most of the people of the United States by the current design.

physpersp.GIF The physician perspective is noted. About 75% of physicians are found in 4% of the land area in super center or major center practice zip codes. Physicians “see” from the physician perspective. Medical and medical education leaders see from the Super Center medical school perspective with a small fraction of the US population and primary care and a large fraction of the hospital, specialty, and health resource components. What physicians (and politicians) see is often related to concentrations of physicians, people, and resources. What the people of the United States see is very different, and a poor fit for their needs.

popperspect.GIF The population perspective is noted by graphics. Only a small portion of the nation’s population is found in locations with top concentrations of physicians, About 65% of the US population is outside of concentrations with few physicians and non-physicians other than the family practice forms. Diverse admissions are often considered "different" but are actually more normal in origins, career choice, and in distribution where most needed. Extremely different children of the most concentrated origins are extremely exclusive and make exclusive career and location choices. Only a small fraction of the American population is as extreme as the physicians that enter the US workforce. And the nation's physicians are getting even more exclusive/diverse/different in origins.

What Does New York City look like in PDC coding? Manhattan has top concentrations of physicians with surrounding zip codes with marginal and underserved practice locations. Locations of medical schools and major hospitals, and concentrations of physicians shape further concentrations of physicians and health resources, and may even shape surrounding marginal and underserved problems.

Physicians in 2005 Masterfile careers and practice locations using PDC coding can be tracked back to birth origins. With origins more likely to involve higher income and more urban origins, physicians are more likely to be found in Super Center and Major Center concentrations of physicians. Physicians from Underserved and Marginal practice locations arise at similar rates according to birth origins and more normal and less exclusive origins are associated with higher probability of most needed health access practice locations.

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