Access to Care: Populations in Counties with No FQHC, RHC, or Acute Care Hospital

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Rural areas have more limited access to health care than urban areas. In 2013, there were 79.3 primary care physicians per 100,000 people in metropolitan counties, compared to only 55.1 per 100,000 people in non-metropolitan counties. To help provide a quick understanding of how many people may have more limited access to primary care and where they live, the NC Rural Health Research Program wrote the brief, Access to Care: Populations in Counties with No FQHC, RHC, or Acute Care Hospital.  It focuses on three main providers of primary care in rural areas (Federally Qualified Health Centers, and Rural Health Centers, and acute care hospitals).