Background: The specialty of dermatology has not been affected by initiatives to help recruit physicians rurally, even with the rising demand for dermatology services. The geographic density of dermatologists is distributed unevenly across the nation; however, the distribution has not been analyzed at the state level for Wisconsin.
Methods: We analyzed geographic distribution information obtained from the American Academy of Dermatology.
Results: The Southeastern region of Wisconsin has the greatest density of dermatologists, with 6.76 per 100,000 individuals. Northeastern, Southern, Western, and Northern regions follow with ratios of 4.32, 3.97, 3.53, and 3.50, respectively.
Discussion: Two of the 5 state public health regions are adequately served with a ratio of greater than 4 dermatologists per 100,000 individuals. Wisconsin's regions with the greatest rural counties contain the worst ratios.
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