DC has many resources in abundance. But apparently, doctors are not one of them. A new report from the DC Board of Medicine reveals that, while nearly 9,000 doctors are licensed to work here, fewer than half actually practice in the District. Of that, 72% do not live in the District and and less than 75% spend more than 20 hours per week with patients. According to the Washington Post:

The numbers drop even further among actively practicing primary-care doctors: 382 in internal medicine, 307 in pediatrics, 119 in obstetrics and gynecology, and 110 in family practice. [...]

The report found that actively practicing doctors are clustered in Wards 1, 2, 3 and 5, near hospitals. Health-care experts said any shortages that might be perceived in the District depend very heavily on where a person lives.

In Ward 3, for example, there is an abundance of physicians, with “literally hundreds of doctors to choose from,” said Michael Williams, chief of health-care operations for the nonprofit DC Primary Care Association. But he said only 90 doctors list a business address east of the Anacostia River. Continue reading →