Medically underserved areas: are primary care teams efficient at attracting and retaining general practitioners?

Abstract

The geographical imbalances of General Practitioners (GPs) may affect their accessibility for populations, especially in medically underserved areas. We investigate the effect of the dramatic and recent diffusion of Primary Care Teams (PCTs), especially in medically underserved areas, in order to attract and retain GPs through an improvement of their working conditions. We analyze the evolution of GPs and young GPs density between 2004 and 2017 according to a spatial taxonomy of French living areas in 6 clusters. Based on a quasi-experimental design comparing living areas, depending on the clusters, with PCTs (treated) and without PCTs (control), we used difference-in-differences models to estimate the impact of PCT new settlements on the evolution of both attraction and retention of GPs. Our results show that PCT settlements are efficient to attract young GPs and that the magnitude of the effects depends on the living area clusters. Results call for specific policies to address geographical inequalities of GPs that consider the type of place and also, in France, for new measures to attract and retain GPs in rural fringes.

Keywords: France; General practitioners; Geographical inequalities; Medically underserved areas; Primary care teams.