Foreign Medical Graduates and Equal Access to Medical Care

A.M.A. data, from 1968, are examined to determine the impact of foreign medical graduates (FMGs) on the geographic distribution of physicians in the United States. Doctor/ population ratio data indicate that FMGs have increased the disparity in the availability of physicians' services among states and between urban and rural areas. Thus it is shown that an increase in the number of physicians does not necessarily help to relieve imbalances in the geographic distribution of physicians.