The effect of regional medical education on physician distribution in Illinois

Changes in the distribution of physicians among the 102 counties in Illinois in 1969 and 1979 were analyzed. During the decade, the supply of patient care physicians increased from 12,884 to 17,363 (35 percent). The 49 counties with populations of fewer than 25,000 experienced only minimal increases (14 physicians). The state's major population center, the Chicago Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA), had a stable rate of increase to maintain its 76 percent of the total patient care physician supply in Illinois. The major change was the increase in physicians in counties with middle-sized cities. The authors relate the changes to the establishment of regional medical education centers in the state and argue that the major result of the program was not a general diffusion of physicians but the concentration of physicians in the tertiary care centers with the new educational programs.