1. 2008 Edition
State of the State’s
Rural Health
Workforce Issues:
Physicians & Hospitals

2. On the Cover:
2007 honors
The the Cover: for Rural Health was honored in 2007 for its leadership and contributions to rural health. William Pettit, D.O., OSU Center for
On OSU Center
Health Sciences associate dean and assistant professor for rural health, is shown here with a BlueCross BlueShield of Oklahoma - Champions of
2007 honors
Health award and the Rural Health Association of Oklahoma’s Rural Organization of the Year for 2007 plaque. (Photo by Terry Drenner)
The OSU Center for Rural Health was honored in 2007 for its leadership and contributions to rural health. William Pettit, D.O., OSU Center for
Health Sciences associate dean and assistant professor for rural health, is shown with a BlueCross BlueShield of Oklahoma - Champions of Health
award and the Rural Health Association of Oklahoma’s Rural Organization of the Year for 2007 plaque. (Photo by Terry Drenner)

3. Preface
Welcome to the Oklahoma State University Center for Rural Health’s second edition of the State of
the State’s Rural Health.
The theme for this year’s publication is “Workforce Issues: Physicians Hospitals.” Oklahoma,
like the rest of the nation, is facing a critical shortage of physicians, particularly among the various
primary care specialties. Some data indicate that Oklahoma is already suffering a physician
shortage. In 2007, the American Medical Association reported that Oklahoma ranked last in the
nation with the fewest number of patient care and primary care physicians per 00,000 population.
This dearth of physicians led, in part, to the United Health Foundation ranking Oklahoma 47th in
overall health status. On a more ominous note, the Commonwealth Fund ranked Oklahoma 50th in
health system performance.
While the causes of the physician shortage are many, the solution to the problem is simple:
Oklahoma needs more physicians, especially in rural areas, and physicians with primary care
specialties. How to increase the physician supply is debatable. The OSU Center for Health Sciences
is committed to guiding more primary care physicians to rural Oklahoma through increasing its
medical school class sizes, expanding graduate medical education programs into rural areas, and
fostering a rural pipeline to return physicians back to the communities where they were raised.
This publication outlines the characteristics of Oklahoma’s rural physician workforce. Evident is the
maldistribution of physicians between urban and rural portions of the state and an aging physician
workforce. This edition also provides an overview of medical education in the state and the
characteristics of the state’s hospital infrastructure.
More physicians alone cannot improve Oklahoma’s health status. Oklahomans must be willing
to make social and behavioral changes like those outlined in Governor Brad Henry’s “Strong and
Healthy Oklahoma” initiative if we want to have a truly healthy state.
For more information about Oklahoma’s rural health, please visit our web site:
http://ruralhealth.okstate.edu/
Chad Landgraf, M.S.
Jeff Hackler, J.D., M.B.A.
Tulsa, Oklahoma

4. Defining Rural Oklahoma
R
ural means different things to different people. of their population living in urban coded tracts were
No single definition of rural exists. The federal classified as Mixed, and counties with less than 65
government commonly uses four different percent of their population living in urban coded tracts
definitions of rural just within its various health were classified as Rural.
programs. The OSU Center for Rural Health uses
The development of these three categories (Rural,
the definition that is most widely accepted among
Urban, and Mixed) allowed us to compare the health
those who conduct rural health research: the Rural-
and socioeconomic data of a county versus its place
Urban Commuting Area codes developed by the
along the urban-rural continuum.
Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho
Rural Health Research Center housed at the University The table at the right shows selected socioeconomic
of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. and demographic characteristics of Rural, Urban, and
Mixed Oklahoma. These characteristics are often
Most publicly accessible health and demographic data
cited as macro-level determinants of health status for
are compiled at the county-level, while RUCA codes
a population. For example, lower levels of educational
provide detail down to the spatially smaller census
attainment are directly related to lower incomes,
tract-level. For each county in the state, we calculated
which in turn generally lead to lower overall health
the total percentage of the population living in census
status. A county-by-county breakdown of these data
tracts designated with urban and rural RUCA codes.
is presented in a table on the next two pages, followed
Counties with more than 95 percent of their population
by two maps that show the distribution of population
living in urban coded tracts were classified as Urban,
among the counties and county-level population
counties with between 95 percent and 65 percent
change between 990 and 2000.
2

5. Designation of Counties as Urban, Rural, or Mixed
Based on Rural-Urban Commuting Area Codes
CIMARRON
TEXAS OTTAWA
BEAVER HARPER WOODS
WASHINGTON
ALFALFA GRANT KAY CRAIG
NOWATA
OSAGE
WOODWARD
ELLIS GARFIELD NOBLE DELAWARE
ROGERS
County Designation MAJOR PAWNEE MAYES
Rural (68) PAYNE TULSA
DEWEY
KINGFISHER WAGONER
Mixed Urban Rural (5) BLAINE LOGAN CREEK CHEROKEE ADAIR
Urban (4) ROGER MILLS LINCOLN
CUSTER OKMULGEE MUSKOGEE
Source: Adapted from WWAMI Rural Health Research Center (2006) CANADIAN OKLAHOMA
OKFUSKEE SEQUOYAH
BECKHAM McINTOSH
POTTAWATOMIE
WASHITA
C
CL
SEMINOLE
EV
CADDO HASKELL
V
EL
AN
M
Mc
D
D
GRADY HUGHES
Mixed
C
CL
GREER KIOWA
AIIN
PITTSBURG Le FLORE
304,803 LATIMER
8.5% HARMON PONTOTOC
COMANCHE GARVIN
JACKSON
COAL
STEPHENS
TILLMAN MURRAY PUSHMATAHA
Rural COTTON JOHNSTON ATOKA
Urban 1,667,573 CARTER
JEFFERSON McCURTAIN
1,606,836 46.6% MARSHALL CHOCTAW
44.9% LOVE BRYAN
Population by Rural, Urban, or Mixed
Selected Socioeconomic Demographic Comparison
of Rural, Urban, and Mixed Counties in Oklahoma
Rural Urban Mixed Oklahoma
White 76% 7% 82% 74%
Black 4% 2% % 7%
Native American % 4% 6% 8%
Hispanic 4% 7% % 5%
Other 5% 6% 6% 6%
Avg. Median Age 8.2 years 2.7 years 6. years 7.8 years
% Population Living in Poverty 7% % 0% 5%
Avg. Median Household Income $28,856 $7,247 $8,882 $29,94
% of Population Over Age 65 5% % % %
% Adult Population without High School
2% 6% 8% 9%
Degree or G.E.D.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2000)

6. Native Median Pop. in Med. HH No H.S.
White Black Hisp. Other Age 65+
County American Age Poverty Income Diploma
(%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
(%) (yrs) (%) ($) (%)
Adair 47.7 0.2 4.8 . 7.2 .2 22.7 24,88 2.0 .
Alfalfa 88.4 4. 2.6 2.9 2. 42. . 0,259 20.4 8.6
Atoka 75.4 5.9 .2 .4 6. 8. 7.5 24,752 4.8 0.6
Beaver 86.6 0. .2 0.8 .2 9. .5 6,75 6.9 8.8
Beckham 84.7 5. 2.4 5.4 2. 6.6 6.4 27,402 5.5 24.
Blaine 7.7 6.5 8.5 6.6 4.7 7.6 4.6 28,56 6.8 24.5
Bryan 78.9 .4 2.0 2.6 5. 5.8 7.9 27,888 5.4 25.
Caddo 64. 2.9 2.0 6. .8 6.0 20.8 27,47 4.9 24.
Canadian 85.0 2. 4. .9 4.9 5.4 7.7 45,49 9.5 2.7
Carter 76.8 7.5 8. 2.8 4.8 8.0 6.2 29,405 6.0 2.0
Cherokee 55.2 .2 .9 4. 7.5 2. 22.0 26,56 2.0 2.
Choctaw 67.8 0.9 4.8 .6 4.9 8.7 2.9 22,74 7.4 .0
Cimarron 8.0 0.5 .0 5.4 2.0 9. 7. 0,625 8.6 2.4
Cleveland 8.5 .5 4.2 4.0 6.7 2.2 0. 4,846 8.4 .9
Coal 74.5 0.4 7.0 2. 6.0 8. 22.6 2,705 7.9 .4
Comanche 62.0 8.6 4.8 8.4 6.2 0. 4.2 ,867 9.8 4.8
Cotton 82.8 2.8 6.8 4.9 2.7 8.6 7.6 27,20 7.8 2.0
Craig 68. . 6.2 .2 .5 9. 2.8 0,997 6.2 2.
Creek 8.4 2.5 8.9 .9 5.2 6.9 .2 ,68 2.8 22.4
Custer 79. 2.8 5.5 9.0 . 2.7 7.6 28,524 .7 8.8
Delaware 69.4 0. 22. .8 6.6 40.8 8.0 27,996 7.5 24.6
Dewey 90.6 0. 4.5 2.7 2.0 4.0 4.5 28,72 2.0 20.2
Ellis 94.8 0.0 . 2.6 .4 45. 2. 27,95 22.0 8.8
Garfield 86.9 .2 2.0 4. .7 7.7 .5 ,006 6.0 7.8
Garvin 8.4 2.5 7.2 .4 .4 9.0 5.7 28,070 7.9 27.0
Grady 86. .0 4.7 2.9 . 6.5 .6 2,625 . 20.5
Grant 94. 0. 2.4 .8 .4 4.4 .4 28,977 2.4 4.
Greer 78.7 8.7 2.4 7.4 2.8 40.0 6.4 25,79 20.0 2.
Harmon 65.8 9.2 .0 22.8 .2 9.9 28.6 22,65 2.0 6.8
Harper 92.9 0.0 0.9 5.6 0.5 4. 0.0 ,705 2.7 7.9
Haskell 77.5 0.6 4.5 .5 5.9 8.6 20.2 24,55 7.2 .
Hughes 7.8 4.5 5.8 2.5 5.4 9. 9.9 22,62 8.6 29.2
Jackson 7.5 7.9 .6 5.6 .4 .0 5.7 0,77 .9 20.9
Jefferson 8.7 0.6 5.0 7.0 .7 40.4 8.2 2,647 20. 0.7
Johnston 75.4 .7 4.9 2.5 5.6 8.0 2.4 24,592 5.4 0.9
Kay 82.5 .8 7. 4. 4. 8. 5.7 0,762 7.0 9.
Kingfisher 86. .5 .0 6.9 2.5 8.0 0.6 6,676 5.4 8.8
Kiowa 80.5 4.6 5.9 6.7 2. 40.9 8.6 26,05 20. 22.6
Latimer 72.5 0.9 9.2 .5 5.9 6.8 2. 2,962 6. 26.2
4

7. Native Median Pop. in Med. HH No H.S.
White Black Hisp. Other Age 65+
County American Age Poverty Income Diploma
(%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
(%) (yrs) (%) ($) (%)
Le Flore 78.4 2.2 0.6 .8 5.0 6. 8.4 27,278 .8 29.6
Lincoln 85.7 2.4 6.4 .5 .9 7.5 4. ,87 .9 22.5
Logan 80. 0.9 2.8 2.9 . 6. 2. 6,784 2. 8.5
Love 8. 2.2 6.4 7.0 .2 9.4 .7 2,558 6.2 26.4
Major 9.8 0.2 0.9 4.0 .2 4.6 .8 0,949 9.4 2.4
Marshall 76.5 .8 8.7 8.6 4.4 4. 7.5 26,47 9.5 29.0
Mayes 7. 0. 8.9 .9 7.6 7.2 4.0 ,25 4.9 2.9
McClain 85. 0.6 5.4 4.9 .7 6.9 0.4 7,275 2.0 20.7
McCurtain 69.5 9.2 .2 . 5.0 6.0 24. 24,62 4.0 0.8
McIntosh 72.0 4.0 6. . 6.7 44. 7.8 25,964 2.8 28.4
Murray 79.2 .9 .4 . 4.4 9.8 .7 0,294 8.5 25.7
Muskogee 62.8 . 4.7 2.7 6.8 7.0 7. 28,48 5. 24.9
Noble 85.8 .6 7.4 .8 .4 8. 2.5 ,968 5.2 8.5
Nowata 7.9 2.5 6. .2 8. 9.0 .8 29,470 7. 2.8
Okfuskee 64.9 0.4 7.9 .6 5.2 8.6 2.2 24,24 6. 0.6
Oklahoma 67. 4.9 .2 8.7 6. 4.2 4.9 5,06 2.2 7.5
Okmulgee 69.0 0.2 2.6 .9 6. 6.9 8.4 27,625 5. 25.
Osage 66. 0.7 4.2 2. 6.9 8. 2.7 4,477 . 9.8
Ottawa 72.9 0.6 6.4 .2 7.0 7. 6. 27,507 6.9 24.
Pawnee 8.7 0.7 2.0 .2 4.5 8.5 2.9 ,66 4.8 2.2
Payne 8. .6 4.5 2. 6.5 27.6 8.2 28,7 0.8 .
Pittsburg 76. 4.0 2. 2. 5. 9.4 6.0 28,679 7. 2.8
Pontotoc 74.8 2.0 5.2 2. 5.6 5.7 5.9 26,955 5.0 2.8
Pottawatomie 78.8 2.9 0.9 2.4 5. 5.5 .9 ,57 .8 20.7
Pushmataha 77. 0.7 5.4 .6 5. 40. 22.6 22,27 8. .0
Roger Mills 90.2 0. 5.2 2.6 .6 4.7 6. 0,078 8.7 20.7
Rogers 79.0 0.7 .9 .8 6.6 6.2 8.5 44,47 . 6.6
Seminole 69.9 5.5 7. 2.2 5. 8. 20. 25,568 6.7 26.8
Sequoyah 67.4 .8 9.4 2.0 9. 6.4 9.5 27,65 .5 29.8
Stephens 96.2 2.2 4.8 4.0 2.9 40. 4. 0,709 8.5 2.0
Texas 66.7 0.6 0.9 29.9 .9 0.4 .8 5,872 0.2 28.
Tillman 68.5 8.9 2.5 7.7 2.4 8.9 2.0 24,828 9. 2.6
Tulsa 72.5 0.8 5. 6.0 5.7 4.4 .4 8,2 .8 4.9
Wagoner 78.9 .7 9.2 2.5 5.7 6.2 8.8 4,744 0.2 8.7
Washington 79.9 2.5 8.5 2.6 6.5 40. .7 5,86 7.8 4.8
Washita 90.4 0.4 2.8 4.5 .9 9.2 5. 29,56 8.8 20.
Woods 9.9 2. .5 2.4 .8 7.8 . 28,927 9.9 7.
Woodward 90. . 2.0 4.8 .8 7.4 .9 ,58 4.2 20.
Totals on Page 3
Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2000)
5

8. Total Population by County
2006 (Estimated)
CIMARRON
TEXAS OTTAWA
BEAVER HARPER WOODS
WASHINGTON
ALFALFA GRANT KAY CRAIG
NOWATA
OSAGE
WOODWARD
ELLIS GARFIELD NOBLE DELAWARE
ROGERS
MAJOR PAWNEE MAYES
Total Population TULSA
PAYNE
200,001 to 691,266 DEWEY
BLAINE KINGFISHER WAGONER
LOGAN CREEK CHEROKEE ADAIR
100,001 to 200,000
ROGER MILLS LINCOLN
50,001 to 100,000 CUSTER OKMULGEE MUSKOGEE
CANADIAN OKLAHOMA
10,001 to 50,000 OKFUSKEE SEQUOYAH
2,807 to 10,000 BECKHAM McINTOSH
POTTAWATOMIE
WASHITA
CL
SEMINOLE
EV
Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2006) CADDO HASKELL
EL
AN
Mc
D
GRADY HUGHES
CL
GREER KIOWA
AIN
PITTSBURG Le FLORE
LATIMER
HARMON COMANCHE GARVIN PONTOTOC
JACKSON
COAL
STEPHENS
TILLMAN MURRAY PUSHMATAHA
COTTON JOHNSTON ATOKA
CARTER
JEFFERSON McCURTAIN
MARSHALL CHOCTAW
LOVE BRYAN
County-Level Population Change
1990-2000
CIMARRON
TEXAS OTTAWA
BEAVER HARPER WOODS
WASHINGTON
ALFALFA GRANT KAY CRAIG
NOWATA
OSAGE
WOODWARD
ELLIS GARFIELD NOBLE DELAWARE
ROGERS
MAJOR PAWNEE MAYES
Percent Population Change TULSA
PAYNE
1990 - 2000 DEWEY
KINGFISHER WAGONER
BLAINE LOGAN CREEK CHEROKEE ADAIR
20.2% to 32.1%
ROGER MILLS LINCOLN
12.0% to 20.1% CUSTER OKMULGEE MUSKOGEE
CANADIAN OKLAHOMA
6.4% to 11.9% OKFUSKEE SEQUOYAH
0% to 6.3% BECKHAM McINTOSH
POTTAWATOMIE
WASHITA
CL
SEMINOLE
EV
-7.5% to -0.1% CADDO HASKELL
EL
AN
Mc
-17.1% to -7.6%
D
GRADY HUGHES
CL
GREER KIOWA
AIN
PITTSBURG Le FLORE
Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2000) LATIMER
HARMON COMANCHE GARVIN PONTOTOC
JACKSON
COAL
STEPHENS
TILLMAN MURRAY PUSHMATAHA
COTTON JOHNSTON ATOKA
CARTER
JEFFERSON McCURTAIN
MARSHALL CHOCTAW
LOVE BRYAN
6

9. Physicians

10. Oklahoma’s Physicians
O
klahoma is home to between 6,800 and 7,200 active (non-retired) physicians. The exact number
varies depending on the data source, method of analysis, and timeliness of the data. The typical
source of most physician data is the American Medical Association’s Physician Masterfile. The AMA
Masterfile is a comprehensive database that is designed to catalogue information about every physician,
both osteopathic (D.O.) and allopathic (M.D.), in the United States. However, our review of the Masterfile
revealed some limitations, particularly among osteopathic physicians practicing in Oklahoma. To overcome
these limitations, we opted to use the medical licensure databases maintained by Oklahoma’s two medical
licensing boards. The data provided in this edition of the State of the State’s Rural Health assumes that
7,54 active physicians were practicing in Oklahoma during January and February of 2007. This total
includes those physicians in graduate medical education programs and employed by various federal and
state agencies. Of these physicians, 5,98 (7%) practice in an Urban setting, ,795 (25%) in Rural, and 6
(2%) in Mixed. Oklahoma County has the largest number of physicians with 2,565 individuals. Five counties
(all Rural) have only one physician. The table on pages 2- shows a county-by-county breakdown of
physicians.
Osteopathic physicians account for 20% (,454) of all active physicians in the state. Most (66%) practice
in Urban Oklahoma, followed by Rural (%), and Mixed (%) Oklahoma. Tulsa County is home to 605
osteopathic physicians, reflecting the presence of the state’s two leading osteopathic medical education
facilities: OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine (medical education) and the OSU Medical Center (residency
training).
Comprising 80% of the physician workforce in the state, allopathic physicians total 5,700 active individuals.
Most (74%) practice in Urban Oklahoma, followed by Rural (24%), and Mixed (2%) Oklahoma. The largest
concentration of allopathic physicians is in Oklahoma County with 2,45, reflecting the presence of the
state’s allopathic medical education facilities at the OU Health Sciences Center.
8

11. Active Osteopathic (D.O.) Physicians, 2007
CIMARRON TEXAS
BEAVER HARPER KAY NOWATA CRAIG OTTAWA
WASHINGTON
ALFALFA GRANT
WOODS
OSAGE
GARFIELD ROGERS
NOBLE
WOODWARD MAJOR MAYES DELAWARE
Active Osteopathic Physicians ELLIS PAWNEE
1 dot represents 1 physician PAYNE TULSA
DEWEY KINGFISHER WAGONER
LOGAN CREEK CHEROKEE
Source: Oklahoma Board of Osteopathic Examiners (01/2007) BLAINE ADAIR
ROGER MILLS
Mixed CUSTER
OKMULGEE
LINCOLN MUSKOGEE
44 CANADIAN OKLAHOMA OKFUSKEE SEQUOYAH
3%
McINTOSH
POTTAWATOMIE
CL
BECKHAM CADDO
SEMINOLE
WASHITA
EV
EL
GRADY HASKELL
AN
Mc
D
GREER HUGHES PITTSBURG
CL
KIOWA Le FLORE
AIN
LATIMER
Rural COMANCHE GARVIN PONTOTOC
456 HARMON
COAL
JACKSON
31%
Urban STEPHENS MURRAY
TILLMAN PUSHMATAHA
954 COTTON CARTER JOHNSTON
ATOKA
66% McCURTAIN
JEFFERSON CHOCTAW
MARSHALL
LOVE BRYAN
Osteopathic Physicians
by Rural, Urban, or Mixed
Active Allopathic (M.D.) Physicians, 2007
CIMARRON
TEXAS WOODS KAY CRAIG
NOWATA OTTAWA
WASHINGTON
BEAVER HARPER ALFALFA GRANT
OSAGE
GARFIELD
ELLIS NOBLE ROGERS
WOODWARD MAJOR MAYES DELAWARE
Active Allopathic Physicians PAWNEE
1 dot represents 1 physician PAYNE TULSA
DEWEY KINGFISHER LOGAN WAGONER CHEROKEE
Source: Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision (02/2007) BLAINE CREEK
ADAIR
ROGER MILLS LINCOLN
CUSTER OKMULGEE
CANADIAN MUSKOGEE
OKLAHOMA SEQUOYAH
Mixed OKFUSKEE
117 WASHITA McINTOSH
POTTAWATOMIE
2%
CL
BECKHAM CADDO
SEMINOLE
EV
EL
GRADY HASKELL
AN
Mc
D
GREER PITTSBURG
CL
KIOWA HUGHES
AIN
Le FLORE
LATIMER
Rural COMANCHE GARVIN PONTOTOC
HARMON
1,339 JACKSON COAL
24%
STEPHENS MURRAY
TILLMAN ATOKA PUSHMATAHA
COTTON JOHNSTON
CARTER
Urban McCURTAIN
4,244 JEFFERSON CHOCTAW
MARSHALL
LOVE BRYAN
74%
Allopathic Physicians
by Rural, Urban, or Mixed
9

12. Primary Care Physicians
in Oklahoma
P
rimary care is the most fundamental element
of healthcare. Research by Starfield, Shi,
and Macinko (2005) shows that access to
Number of Primary Care Physicians in primary care physicians and a functioning primary
Oklahoma and Neighboring States per care delivery system both result in more equitable
100,000 Population, 2005 healthcare among the population, fewer illnesses, and
ultimately fewer deaths. The primary care physician is
on the frontlines in battles against illness and disease.
Of the 7,54 active physicians in Oklahoma, 47%
Arkansas 98.7
(,2) specialize in primary care. For the purposes
Colorado 116.6 of the State of the State’s Rural Health, we classified
Kansas 101.6 any physician as “primary care” who had a primary
specialty of family medicine/general practice, internal
Missouri 106.2
medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics/gynecology.
New Mexico 113.6 Like the larger universe of physicians, most primary
Oklahoma 79.7 care physicians practice in Urban Oklahoma (64%),
followed by Rural (%), and Mixed (%). One county,
Texas 95.5
Alfalfa, has no primary care physicians in active
U.S. 119.9 practice. The table on pages 2 and shows a
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 county-by-county breakdown of the various primary
Primary Care Physicians per 100,000 Population care specialties. As a state, Oklahoma ranks last in
Source: American Medical Association (2007)
the nation in access to primary care physicians.
0

13. Primary Care Physicians, 2007
TEXAS
CIMARRON KAY NOWATA CRAIG OTTAWA
WASHINGTON
BEAVER HARPER ALFALFA GRANT
WOODS
OSAGE
ROGERS
NOBLE
WOODWARD MAJOR MAYES
Active Primary Care Physicians ELLIS
GARFIELD DELAWARE
PAWNEE
1 dot represents 1 physician PAYNE TULSA
Source: Oklahoma Board of Osteopathic Examiners (01/2007) DEWEY WAGONER
KINGFISHER LOGAN CREEK CHEROKEE
Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure Supervision (02/2007) BLAINE ADAIR
ROGER MILLS
CUSTER
OKMULGEE
LINCOLN MUSKOGEE
CANADIAN OKLAHOMA OKFUSKEE SEQUOYAH
McINTOSH
Mixed
POTTAWATOMIE
CL
BECKHAM WASHITA
SEMINOLE
EV
117 CADDO
EL
GRADY HASKELL
AN
3%
Mc
D
GREER HUGHES
CL
KIOWA PITTSBURG
AIN
LATIMER Le FLORE
COMANCHE GARVIN PONTOTOC
HARMON
JACKSON COAL
Rural STEPHENS MURRAY
TILLMAN PUSHMATAHA
1,090 JOHNSTON
COTTON CARTER ATOKA
33%
Urban McCURTAIN
JEFFERSON CHOCTAW
2,125 MARSHALL
BRYAN
LOVE
64%
Primary Care Physicians
by Rural, Urban, or Mixed
Primary Care Physicians per
10,000 Population, 2007
CIMARRON
TEXAS OTTAWA
BEAVER HARPER WOODS
WASHINGTON
ALFALFA GRANT KAY CRAIG
NOWATA
OSAGE
WOODWARD
ELLIS GARFIELD NOBLE DELAWARE
ROGERS
Primary Care Physicians MAJOR PAWNEE MAYES
per 10,000 Population PAYNE TULSA
DEWEY
12.6 to 16.5 BLAINE KINGFISHER
LOGAN CREEK
WAGONER CHEROKEE ADAIR
7.6 to 12.5 ROGER MILLS LINCOLN
5.1 to 7.5 CUSTER
CANADIAN
OKMULGEE MUSKOGEE
OKLAHOMA
OKFUSKEE SEQUOYAH
3.3 to 5.0
BECKHAM McINTOSH
1.4 to 3.2
POTTAWATOMIE
WASHITA
CL
SEMINOLE
EV
CADDO HASKELL
No Primary Care Physicians
EL
AN
Mc
D
GRADY HUGHES
CL
Source: Oklahoma Board of Osteopathic Examiners (01/2007) GREER KIOWA
AIN
PITTSBURG Le FLORE
Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure Supervision (02/2007) LATIMER
HARMON COMANCHE GARVIN PONTOTOC
JACKSON
COAL
STEPHENS
TILLMAN MURRAY PUSHMATAHA
COTTON JOHNSTON ATOKA
CARTER
JEFFERSON McCURTAIN
MARSHALL CHOCTAW
LOVE BRYAN

14. Total Primary Care Family Medicine/ Internal
County Pediatrics OB/GYN
Physicians Physicians General Practice Medicine
Adair 2 9 2 0
Alfalfa 0 0 0 0 0
Atoka 4 0 0 0
Beaver 2 2 2 0 0 0
Beckham 4 8
Blaine 9 9 0 0 0
Bryan 6 4 27 9 4
Caddo 4 2 9 0 0
Canadian 64 47 5 6
Carter 92 40 7 5 5
Cherokee 67 4 8 6 6
Choctaw 7 7 6 0 0
Cimarron 4 4 4 0 0 0
Cleveland 59 57 8 6 6 22
Coal 0 0 0
Comanche 27 97 54 20 0
Cotton 0 0 0
Craig 5 7 6 0 0
Creek 42 4 2 0
Custer 27 20 5 2 0
Delaware 2 6 2 2
Dewey 0 0 0
Ellis 6 6 6 0 0 0
Garfield 25 45 2 9 6 7
Garvin 24 9 4 2 2
Grady 4 24 5 4 4
Grant 0 0 0
Greer 5 5 5 0 0 0
Harmon 2 2 2 0 0 0
Harper 0 0 0
Haskell 9 6 4 2 0 0
Hughes 2 2 2 0 0 0
Jackson 6 8 9 4 2
Jefferson 0 0 0
Johnston 5 5 4 0 0
Kay 6 0 7 7
Kingfisher 7 7 6 0 0
Kiowa 6 4 4 0 0 0
Latimer 9 6 2 0
Le Flore 8 27 9 2
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15. Total Primary Care Family Medicine/ Internal
County Pediatrics OB/GYN
Physicians Physicians General Practice Medicine
Lincoln 0 9 9 0 0 0
Logan 7 0 4 0
Love 4 4 4 0 0 0
Major 4 0 0 0
Marshall 7 6 5 0 0
Mayes 25 9 2
McClain 6 0 0 0
McCurtain 22 7 2 2 2
McIntosh 0 8 2 0 0
Murray 9 7 2 0 0
Muskogee 52 72 27 4 6 5
Noble 5 5 5 0 0 0
Nowata 6 6 6 0 0 0
Okfuskee 5 0 0 0
Oklahoma 2,565 95 25 2 5 25
Okmulgee 4 27 2 8 5 2
Osage 2 20 5 2 0
Ottawa 6 2 4 4 2
Pawnee 8 7 0 0
Payne 8 68 7 8 0
Pittsburg 6 28 2 9 2 5
Pontotoc 8 45 8 4 7 6
Pottawatomie 67 47 20 2 8 7
Pushmataha 7 5 5 0 0 0
Roger Mills 2 2 2 0 0 0
Rogers 8 59 6 0 5 8
Seminole 9 7 0
Sequoyah 2 6 5 0 0
Stephens 7 2 20 2 0
Texas 8 6 7 5 2 2
Tillman 5 5 5 0 0 0
Tulsa 2,057 956 82 0 68 05
Wagoner 22 5 4 0 0
Washington 9 40 24 8 4 4
Washita 2 0 0
Woods 5 2 0 0
Woodward 22 4 0 2
Totals 7,154 3,332 1,605 907 451 369
Source: Oklahoma Board of Osteopathic Examiners (01/2007); Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision (02/2007)

16. The Aging Physician Workforce
M
imicking macro demographic trends, the physician workforce in Oklahoma is growing older. The median age for
all active physicians in the state is 50 years. Physicians practicing in Urban Oklahoma tend to be younger, with
a median age of 49 years, followed by Mixed at 50 years, and Rural at 5 years. The population pyramids to the
right show the number of rural and urban physicians by age cohort.
More than 60% of all rural physicians are older than age 50 compared with 49% of urban physicians. Among the primary
care specialties, 57% of rural physicians are older than age 50 versus 44% for urban physicians.
In 2007, 97 currently active physicians reached age 65. By 208, 24 of the currently active physicians will reach age 65.
This overall trend is true for both rural and urban Oklahoma. A recent nation-wide survey, conducted by the Association of
American Medical Colleges, revealed that / of active physicians older than age 50 would retire today if they could afford to
do so. The eagerness to retire was most prevalent among physicians between the ages of 50 and 59.
Undoubtedly, the looming retirement crisis will be especially hard felt in rural Oklahoma where the number of physicians is
already at a critical low.
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