Rural Communities in the United States Face Persistent Disparities in Access to Orthopaedic Surgical Care

Access to orthopaedic care across the United States (U.S.) remains an important issue, however, no recent study has examined disparities in rural access to orthopaedic care. The goals of the present study were to (1) investigate trends in the proportion of rural orthopaedic surgeons from 2013 to 2018 as well as the proportion of rural U.S. counties with access to such surgeons and (2) analyze characteristics associated with choice of a rural practice setting.

The study analyzed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Physician Compare National Downloadable File (PC-NDF) for all active orthopaedic surgeons from 2013 to 2018. Rural practice settings were defined using Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) codes. Linear regression analysis investigated trends in rural orthopaedic surgeon volume. Multivariable logistic regression evaluated the association of surgeon characteristics with rural practice setting.

The total number of orthopaedic surgeons increased 1.9%, from 21,045 (2013) to 21,456 (2018). Meanwhile, the proportion of rural orthopaedic surgeons decreased by roughly 0.9%, from 578 (2013) to 559 (2018). From a per capita perspective, the number of orthopaedic surgeons practicing in a rural setting per 100,000 population ranged from 4.55 orthopaedic surgeons per 100,000 in 2013 and 4.47 per 100,000 in 2018. Meanwhile, the number of orthopaedic surgeons practicing in an urban setting ranged from 6.63 per 100,000 in 2013 and 6.35 per 100,000 in 2018. The surgeon characteristics most associated with decreased odds of practicing orthopaedic surgery in a rural setting included earlier career-stage (OR: 0.80, 95% CI: [0.70-0.91]; p < 0.001) and sub-specialization status (OR: 0.40, 95% CI: [0.36-0.45]; p < 0.001).

Existing rural-urban disparities in musculoskeletal healthcare access have persisted over the past decade and could worsen. Future research should investigate the effects of orthopaedic workforce shortages on travel times, patient cost burden, and disease specific outcomes. Level of Evidence: IV.