A missing link in care for rural counties

Counties that lack a cardiologist also have fewer primary care physicians, The Washington Post reported July 29.

Research published July 8 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found 46.3% of counties lack a cardiologist. Of those, 86.2% are rural counties where residents tend to have less access to healthcare services overall. Around 10% of U.S. counties have a single cardiologist, the study found.  

A lack of cardiologist and other specialty physicians leaves primary care doctors to make up the care gap. However, in counties without a cardiologist, there was an average of 41 primary care physicians for every 100,000 people, compared with 63 per 100,000 in counties with cardiologists.



Copyright © 2025 Becker's Healthcare. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Linking and Reprinting Policy.


You can unsubscribe from these communications at any time. For more information, please review our Privacy Policy
.
 

Articles We Think You'll Like