Mapping Proximity to Infectious Disease Physicians Across the United States

Julian Maamari; Zhuo Chen; Issam Motairek; Sadeer Al-Kindi; Jorge Fleisher

doi:10.1093/ofid/ofae208

Mapping Proximity to Infectious Disease Physicians Across the United States

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2024 Apr 18;11(5):ofae208. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofae208. eCollection 2024 May.

Authors

Julian Maamari^{1

2}, Zhuo Chen³, Issam Motairek⁴, Sadeer Al-Kindi⁵, Jorge Fleisher^{1

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, St. Elizabeth's Medical Center-A Boston University Teaching Hospital, Brighton, Massachusetts, USA.
² Division of Public Health, Infectious Diseases and Occupational Medicine, Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
³ Harrington Heart and Vascular Institute, University Hospitals, and School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
⁴ Department of Internal Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
⁵ Department of Cardiology, DeBakey Heart & Vascular Institute, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas, USA.
⁶ Division of Infectious Diseases, St. Elizabeth's Medical Center-A Boston University Teaching Hospital, Brighton, Massachusetts, USA.

Abstract

Enduring shortages of infectious disease physicians across the United States continue despite efforts to mitigate the problem. The recent fellowship match results underscore the difficulty in rectifying that shortage. Our report sheds light on the current geographic distribution of US infectious disease physicians and highlights the challenges faced by rural communities.

Keywords: NRMP match; geographic access; health equity; physician shortage; rural infectious disease.