Kentucky Physician Shortage Facts
THE PROBLEM
Physician supply lags patient demand nationally and across Kentucky. As supply falls, patients wait longer to see a doctor, and doctors burn out.
![](https://ciceroinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/healthcare-icon-1.png)
The U.S. is projected to have 120,000 too few doctors nationally.
![](https://ciceroinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/healthcare-icon-2.png)
Kentucky is projected to be short 2,926 doctors by 2030.
- Primary care alone is projected to be short 624 providers.4
![](https://ciceroinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/KY-supply-stats.png)
Kentucky ranks in the bottom half of all states for primary care doctor availability and for overall physician supply.5
![](https://ciceroinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/23-percent-decrease-in-US.png)
Kentucky’s physician-to-patient ratio is 23 percent worse than the national average.
86% worse for infectious disease medicine
47% worse for internal medicine
36 worse in pediatric critical care medicine
40% worse in preventive medicine
44% worse in psychiatry
Louisiana Physician Shortage Facts