By LEE BOWMAN
Scripps Howard News Service
Primary Care By The Numbers:
326,000 -- Primary care doctors in 2006
633,000 -- All doctors in U.S
49 percent -- Proportion of primary care doctors who expect to cut back or stop practicing in the next 3 years
2 percent -- Proportion of medical school grads trained for internal medicine planning to enter primary care
251 million -- Americans in areas underserved for primary care
60 million -- Americans who lack a relationship with a family doctor
66 percent -- Americans who say they have trouble getting medical care at night, weekends and holidays
30 percent -- Americans who say they can get a "same day" appointment with their doctor
120 million -- Emergency room visits per year
4,565 -- Number of emergency departments
71 percent -- Proportion of Americans that can reach an ER within 30 minutes
6,000 -plus -- Community health center clinics delivering primary care
18 million -- Mostly low-income Americans served by community health centers
135,000 -- Advanced nurse practitioners, a majority working in primary care
70,000 -- Physician assistants
1,100 -- Convenient care clinics operating inside pharmacies and retail stories
8,000 to 20,000 -- Estimates of the number of urgent care clinics in U.S., vary based on levels of service Sources: Federal Health Resources and Services Administration; American Medical Association; The Physicians Foundation; The Commonwealth Fund; American Hospital Association; National Association of Community Health Centers; American Academy of Nurse Practitioners; American Association of Physician Assistants; Convenient Care Association.
