Article Commentary: Surgical Workforce in the American South

Abstract

There exists a geographic maldistribution of surgeons with significant regional characteristics, which is associated with surgical access differentials that may be contributing to existing health disparities in the United States. We sought to evaluate the trends in the surgical workforce in southern states of the United States from 1981 to 2006 using the American Medical Association Masterfile data. Our study revealed that the general surgery workforce growth peaked in 1986 and has had negative growth per capita as a result of the consistent population growth, unlike other regions in the country. Furthermore, the change in the geographic distribution of general surgeons in the South was slightly greater than for surgical specialists between 1981 and 2006. Twenty-nine per cent of all southern counties with a collective population of 7.4 million people had no general surgeon in 2006. The failure of the general surgery workforce to grow with population expansion has resulted in a significant number of counties that do not meet the recommended standards of geographic access to surgical care. An adequate solution to surgical workforce demand is imperative for viable and successful implementation of healthcare reform, particularly in geographic regions with large healthcare access disparities.