About 15.1 million Americans live in a county with no general surgeon, according to a national study published Sept. 28 in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. That is 1,180 counties, or 38% of all U.S. counties.
The gap is wider when all surgical fields are counted together. About 9.6 million people live in 951 counties with no surgeon in any of the 12 specialties studied. The researchers also found 475 hospitals and surgical facilities in counties without a full-time surgeon, including 434 critical access hospitals, the small rural hospitals that must keep emergency departments open around the clock.
