A little over 11 percent of U.S. oncologists practice in a rural area, a new report shows.
The American Society of Clinical Oncology has regularly monitored and assessed the U.S. oncology workforce since 2007. The organization's recently released 2020 Workforce Information Systems report gathers the latest available data on U.S. oncologist supply and demand. This year's report is accompanied by an infographic.
Four more findings on the distribution of the U.S. oncology workforce:
1. About 66 percent of rural counties have no oncologist, leaving 32 million Americans in counties without this specialist.
2. Ten percent of U.S. oncologists work in just three urban counties.
3. Urban counties have 20 times more oncologists per square mile than rural counties.
4. Four in 10 Americans who live in rural areas and have had or currently have cancer say there aren't cancer specialists near their home.