Only roughly 6 percent of Washington, D.C.'s physicians are primary care physicians who spend more than 20 hours a week treating patients, according to Washington Post coverage of a District of Columbia Board of Medicine report.
D.C. has more than 8,000 physicians, and just 453 of them practice primary care, according to the report. In 2010, that number was 918.
However, on a hopeful note, of the 453 actively practicing primary care physicians, 85 percent are accepting new patients.
To determine these numbers, the Board of Medicine sent surveys to 8,466 physicians in D.C. who renewed their licenses last year and received responses from 4,790 of them.
More Articles on the Physician Shortage:
Massachusetts Lacks Primary Care Physicians, Certain Specialists
New Jersey Senate Ponders Physician Student Loan Forgiveness Bill
8 Suggestions for Successful Integration of PAs, APNs