The effect of local primary care physician supply on the utilization of preventive health services in the United States

Little research has examined the effect of physician supply on health-related measures at the individual and community level simultaneously. Using telephone survey data from six counties in upstate New York, a commuting radius was constructed between the zip codes of respondents and their primary care physicians. The relationships between local physician supply, the probability of having a primary care physician, and receiving preventive health care checks were analyzed. Both logistic regression and multilevel modeling results indicated the local supply of primary care physicians affects the probability of having a primary care physician, which in turn affects preventive healthcare service utilization.