General internists are less likely than family physicians/general practitioners to work in rural areas, according to a report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
In 2010, 10.2% of the 71,000 practicing general internists worked in rural areas, compared with 22.5% of FPs/GPs and 11% of all physicians. For the United States as a whole, 20% of the population worked in rural areas and 80% worked in urban areas in 2010, the AHRQ noted.
Note: Based on data from the National Provider Identifier file, November 2010. Population in large rural areas = 10,000-50,000; population in small rural areas = 2,500-9,999; population in remote rural/frontier areas is less than 2,500.
Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality