Photo Credit: Stevanovicigor

Rural areas are increasingly facing ophthalmic subspecialty surgeon shortages, according to a study published in JAMA Ophthalmology. Fasika A. Woreta, MD, MPH, and colleagues assessed the geographic distribution of the ophthalmic subspecialist surgeon workforce and factors associated with practicing in rural areas. The analysis included 1.6 million patients aged 65 and older who underwent subspecialized ophthalmic procedures and 13,526 surgeons (72.6% men) performing at least one subspecialty procedure in cornea, glaucoma, oculoplastic, retina, or strabismus. The researchers found that 33.2% practiced in the South. A higher proportion of patients (17.4%) resided in rural areas relative to surgeons (5.6%), with differences as high as 14.8% across subspecialties. Surgeons in the Northeast (aOR, 0.62) and West (aOR, 0.63) were less likely to practice in rural areas. Further, “percentages of rural surgeons declined over time, with female surgeons and recent medical school graduates less likely to practice rurally,” Dr. Woreta and colleagues wrote.