Want to know how your community stacks up when it comes to many important measures of care? Each year the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation publishes its collection of county-level health care rankings.
The 2012 rankings tell an important story regarding both access to health care services and health care outcomes for residents across Michigan. As a state, Michigan ranks in the 90th percentile nationwide in most health measures.
Unfortunately, neither access to health care or good health outcomes are evenly distributed across Michigan. Seven Michigan Counties report the percentage of their residents reporting only fair or poor health are five full percentage points above the statewide average and have nearly double the rate of Michigan’s healthiest communities.
Mirroring national trends, many of Michigan’s less densely populated counties has significantly fewer per-capita physicians than the state average. Across all 83 counties, there is one primary care physician for every 1,119 people.
However, Oakland and Washtenaw counties have one physician for every 577 and 404 people. Most rural counties have only one primary care physician for every 3,000 resident, and Lake County – one of Michigan’s poorest – only has 1 physician per 11,000 residents.
The Michigan Health Council is actively working to address many of the disparities in access to care in Michigan. Medical Opportunities in Michigan is a Michigan-focused physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner and CRNA recruiting tool to help professionals locate in Michigan.