Rural Dermatology: Statistical Measures and Epidemiology

Between 10% and 28% of the United States population lives in rural areas. Significant disparities in access to dermatologic care exist between rural and urban residents. Dermatologist density is significantly lower in rural areas as compared to urban ones and this is seen across dermatologic subspecialties, including general dermatology, pediatric dermatology and Mohs surgery. Similarly, rural residents experience longer wait times and travel distance compared to their urban peers. Decreased dermatologist density per capita, as seen in rural regions, has been linked to poorer disease-specific outcomes for melanoma and Merkel cell carcinoma. In recent years, the density of dermatologists in rural areas has increased but the gap between urban and rural dermatologist density has also grown, belying the disparities that exist between rural and urban residents in access to dermatologic care.