Pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists care for children with special health care needs. Since physicians in many pediatric subspecialties are in short supply, children and families face challenges in accessing timely health care. Pediatric subspecialty shortages mean traveling long distances to get care, waiting weeks or months to get an appointment with a subspecialist, going without care altogether, or getting care from providers with less specific training.

Below are state-specific resources that detail the impact of these shortages in each state.

 

State Fact Sheets

AAP and the American Board of Pediatrics developed state fact sheets that illustrate the impact of pediatric subspecialty shortages on children’s access to health care. These fact sheets show how far children in each state need to travel to see pediatric subspecialists. They also detail how loan repayment can help increase access to care. Select your state from the dropdown below.

Data sources used in the fact sheet are here.

Driving Distance Maps

Maps made with data from the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) show the estimated driving distances to visit a pediatric subspecialist in each state. For each state, see where children have to travel the furthest. Select your state and a subspecialty field from the dropdown below.

Please note that the driving distances in these maps are estimates and are intended only to be illustrative of the pediatric subspecialty workforce in each state. These maps are not intended to be used to determine the exact locations where care is provided.

  • Driving distances were estimated using straight lines from zip code to zip code based on 2019 mailing address data of ABP certified subspecialty pediatricians.
  • The maps cannot account for recent changes or situations in which care is provided in locations different from a provider’s address on file.
  • In areas where car travel is not always feasible—such as Alaska and Hawaii—these estimates should be considered travel distances rather than driving distances.
  • These resources only include data on subspecialties certified by the ABP. Other pediatric subspecialties, including neurology, dermatology, and the surgical specialties are therefore not included.
  • More information on the methodology used is here.

Additional data dashboards on the pediatric workforce are available on the website of the American Board of Pediatrics.

Last Updated

03/26/2021

Source

American Academy of Pediatrics