Key Takeaways

Shortages of family physicians in rural America are getting worse year by year

Rural doctors often have very high caseloads and face burnout, and fewer med students are choosing to become a family physician

Shortages are happening as more young Americans are moving from cities to rural locales

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 26, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The shortage of primary care physicians in rural America was already bad in 2017.

Now, new data finds the situation has only gotten worse in the years since.

Between 2017 and 2023, the number of family physicians dropped by another 11% in the rural U.S., according to researchers at the University of Rochester in New York.

“The data reflect what we already experience and know about physician shortages, but the year-over-year numbers for

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