Indicator 59: Health Care Providers

Why This Is Important

If a community is to meet the needs of its children and families, it must be able to sustain
an adequate health care system. An important indicator of that is how many providers are
present in a community.

Where We Stand

When physicians apply for relicensure to the State’s Board of Licensure in Medicine
(which licenses allopaths/MDs) and Board for Osteopathic Licensure (which licenses
osteopaths/DOs), a survey is periodically enclosed and returned on a voluntary basis by
the licensee. Returns from that survey indicated that the number of pediatricians, family
practitioners, and general practitioners in the state fell somewhat between 1998 and 2000,
as did the rate per 1,000 children aged 0-17. Both indicators rose again in year 2002.
The number of health care providers rose again in 2004, however, the rate of providers
per 1,000 children remained at 3.0. Over 95% of the MDs and DOs returned the surveys
in each year, but the fact that not everyone did so means that the numbers for the two years
are not exactly comparable.

 

Data Sources and Context

Data is from the Physicians Maine 2004 Report, Maine Cooperative Health Manpower
Resource Inventory, Office of Data, Research and Vital Statistics, Maine Department of
Health and Human Services.