North Carolina health professions data book

2007

              North Carolina Health Professions

2006 DATA BOOK

Effective: October 2006

An annual report prepared by:

The N. C. Health Professions Data System

Wren Haaland, Research Assistant

Hazel L. Hadley, Applications Analyst Programmer

Jennifer S. Groves, Applications Analyst Programmer

Katie Gaul, Research Associate

Erin P. Fraher, Director

Claire de la Varre, Research Associate

Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Campus Box # 7590, 725 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard

Chapel Hill, NC 27599- 7590

nchp@ unc. edu

http:// www. shepscenter. unc. edu/ hp

( 919) 966- 7112

North Carolina Health Professions Data System

Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Copyright © 2007 by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables......................................................................................................................... ............. ii

Acknowledgments................................................................................................................ .................................. iii

Introduction................................................................................................................... ............................................ 1

Sources and Limitations of the Data ...................................................................................................................... 2

Source of Health Professions Data ............................................................................................................... 2

Definitions and Limitations.................................................................................................................... ...... 3

Population Data ............................................................................................................................... .............. 4

Demographic and Economic Data................................................................................................................ 4

Summary of Trends in North Carolina Health Professional Supply............................................................... 6

Changes in Supply......................................................................................................................... ............................... 7

Physicians ............................................................................................................................... ........................ 7

Nurse Practitioners, Certified Nurse Midwives and Physician Assistants............................................. 8

Registered Nurses and Licensed Practical Nurses ..................................................................................... 9

Dentists and Dental Hygienists .................................................................................................................... 9

Pharmacists.................................................................................................................... ............................... 10

Physical Therapists and Physical Therapist Assistants ........................................................................... 10

Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy Assistants ........................................................... 10

Psychologists and Psychological Associates ............................................................................................. 10

Podiatrists, Optometrists and Chiropractors ............................................................................................ 11

Respiratory Therapists ............................................................................................................................... . 11

Changes in Practitioner to Population Ratios............................................................................................................. 12

Physicians per 10,000 Population Ratio ..................................................................................................... 12

Primary Care Physicians per 10,000 Population Ratio ............................................................................ 14

Dentists per 10,000 Population Ratio ......................................................................................................... 15

Registered Nurses per 10,000 Population Ratio ....................................................................................... 16

Pharmacists per 10,000 Population Ratio .................................................................................................. 17

Active Health Professionals per 10,000 Population Ratios for All Counties ........................................ 18

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L i s t o f F i g u r e s a n d T a b l e s

Figure 1: Yearly Increases in the Number of Licensed Physicians, 1980- 2006............................................................. 7

Table 1: Number of Residents- In- Training by Sponsor Location, 2006....................................................................... 2

Table 2: North Carolina Health Professions Statistics: 2005 and 2006 ...................................................................... 6

Table 3: Counties with the Largest Physicians per 10,000 Population Ratios, 2006 vs. 2005................................... 13

Table 4: Counties with the Smallest Physicians per 10,000 Population Ratios, 2006 vs. 2005................................. 13

Table 5: Physicians & Primary Care Physicians per 10,000 Population, US and Selected States, 2006 .................. 13

Table 6: Counties with the Largest Primary Care Physicians per 10,000 Population Ratios, 2006 vs. 2005............ 14

Table 7: Counties with the Smallest Primary Care Physicians per 10,000 Population Ratios, 2006 vs. 2005.......... 14

Table 8: Counties with the Largest Dentists per 10,000 Population Ratios, 2006 vs. 2005 ...................................... 15

Table 9: Counties with the Smallest Dentists per 10,000 Population Ratios, 2006 vs. 2005 .................................... 16

Table 10: Counties with the Largest RNs per 10,000 Population Ratios, 2006 vs. 2005........................................... 16

Table 11: Counties with the Smallest RNs per 10,000 Population Ratios, 2006 vs. 2005......................................... 17

Table 12: Counties with the Largest Pharmacists per 10,000 Population Ratios, 2006 vs. 2005 .............................. 17

Table 13: Counties with the Smallest Pharmacists per 10,000 Population Ratios, 2006 vs. 2005 ............................ 18

Table 14: Active Health Professionals per 10,000 Population Ratios, 2006............................................................... 18

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A c k n o w l e d g m e n t s

Information included in this report has been made available by the following organizations:

• North Carolina Board of Chiropractic Examiners

• North Carolina Board of Nursing

• North Carolina Board of Occupational Therapy

• North Carolina Board of Pharmacy

• North Carolina Board of Physical Therapy Examiners

• North Carolina Board of Podiatry Examiners

• North Carolina Medical Board

• North Carolina Medical Society

• North Carolina Midwifery Joint Committee

• North Carolina Psychology Board

• North Carolina Respiratory Care Board

• North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners

• North Carolina State Board of Optometry

• American Medical Association

• Government and Business Services Branch, North Carolina State Library

• North Carolina Department of Commerce, Employment Security Commission

• North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Health Service Regulation

• North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Medical Assistance

• North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics

• North Carolina State Data Center, Office of State Budget and Management

This report was developed by the N. C. Health Professions Data System, Cecil G. Sheps Center for

Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Funds for the publication of

this document were provided by the North Carolina Area Health Education Centers ( NC AHEC)

Program, UNC- CH School of Medicine, and the Office of the Provost ( Health Affairs), University of

North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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I n t r o d u c t i o n

This is the twenty- ninth annual report prepared from data collected by the N. C. Health Professions

Data System ( HPDS). The N. C. Health Professions Data System was developed to collect and disseminate

timely and reliable data on licensed health professionals in North Carolina. The HPDS was initiated in

1975 with federal funding from the National Center for Health Statistics and was assisted in the early

1980s by a grant from the Duke Endowment through the N. C. Hospital Association. Although selected

data are available beginning in 1976, continuous and equivalent data files have been maintained since

1979. For most professions these data include name, mailing address, birth year, gender, race,

information on basic professional education, specialty of practice, activity status, form of employment,

and practice setting. Special analyses and reports from all data files may be requested ( see Appendix III).

This report draws on data from the HPDS and describes the supply and distribution in 2006 of

licensed individuals in nineteen health professions by county and selected regions. The HPDS is

maintained by the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research of the University of North Carolina

at Chapel Hill. Support for the HPDS is provided by the N. C. Area Health Education Centers ( NC

AHEC) Program and the University of North Carolina Office of the Provost ( Health Affairs). This report

would not be possible without the cooperation of the independent health professions licensing boards

that provide data to the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research.

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S o u r c e s a n d L i m i t a t i o n s o f t h e D a t a

Source of Health Professions Data

Health professions data for this report are provided annually by the regulatory boards for each of

the following professions: certified nurse midwives, chiropractors, dental hygienists, dentists, licensed

practical nurses, nurse practitioners, occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants,

optometrists, pharmacists, physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, physicians, physician

assistants, podiatrists, practicing psychologists, psychological associates, registered nurses and

respiratory therapists. The Boards provide demographic, practice, and location information on every

professional licensed to practice in the state of North Carolina. This year, and for the past twenty- eight

years, this annual report has been prepared using data files current up to October for the respective year;

this makes it possible for users to perform longitudinal analyses and to examine yearly changes in health

professionals over time.

Physician data are derived from the N. C. Medical Board’s licensure files. These data contain

physicians who are currently in postgraduate medical training programs but who have permanent

licenses. In an effort to accurately separate physicians in residency training from those who are not in

residency training, listings of physicians in postgraduate medical education programs as of July 2006

were obtained from all North Carolina residency program institutions. These lists were compared with

the N. C. Medical Board’s licensing file. Physicians in residency training are not included in the number of

counts by county in this publication. All resident physicians enrolled in postgraduate medical education

programs were identified and are reported in Table 1.

Table 1: Number of Residents- In- Training by Sponsor Location, 2006

Residency Program County Residents Percent

Duke University Medical Center Durham 868 31.9

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill— UNC Hospitals Orange 690 25.3

Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center Forsyth 492 18.1

East Carolina University— Pitt County Memorial Hospital Pitt 287 10.5

Charlotte AHEC— Carolinas Medical Center Mecklenburg 193 7.1

Coastal AHEC— New Hanover Regional Medical Center New Hanover 60 2.2

Greensboro AHEC— Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital Guilford 48 1.8

Mountain AHEC— Mission Hospital Buncombe 46 1.7

Cabarrus Memorial Hospital Cabarrus 21 0.8

Southern Regional AHEC— Fayetteville Cumberland 18 0.7

State Totals 2,723 100

Source: Residency data are received annually from the respective residency programs and are based on the

institutions’ lists of house staff, residents and fellows as of July 2006.

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The N. C. Midwifery Joint Committee provided data on certified nurse midwives ( CNMs). Data for

nurse practitioners ( NPs) and physician assistants ( PAs) were obtained from the N. C. Medical Board.

Certified nurse midwives and nurse practitioners are included in the registered nurse ( RN) counts

because CNMs and NPs maintain their RN licensure with the N. C. Board of Nursing.

Definitions and Limitations

Because state law requires a license to practice for each of the professions profiled, the data

reported reflect an accurate enumeration of the supply and distribution of licensed practitioners.

However, because the actual activity status of a given professional may change over time ( i. e. the person

may retire, move out of the state but maintain a license, or maintain a license while working in another

profession), having a license does not always indicate that the individual is actively practicing. To adjust

for this, the data presented in this report include only those individuals who indicated on their license

registration renewal form that they were working in North Carolina and were actively engaged in the

profession. Active status may include administrators, researchers and educators who are active in the

profession but not engaged in direct patient care. Active status is assigned to individuals who are newly

licensed and have not reported their status. Those with unknown activity status often include newly

licensed professionals who at the time of licensure had not yet secured employment in their profession.

Those individuals who report a business address or hours but who do not report their status are also

assigned an active status1. Health care professionals are assigned to their self- designated primary

practice location county if they are active and to their mailing address county if they are active and their

primary practice location is unknown. For physicians, this is based on ZIP code information; for all other

professions, counties are identified by the professional on their licensure form. The nursing professions

( registered nurses, certified nurse midwives, nurse practitioners, and licensed practical nurses) and the

dental professions ( dentists and dental hygienists) are grouped together in the region and county pages.

Physicians are broken down separately. The remaining professions are listed in alphabetical order.

For the purpose of this report, doctors of medicine ( MDs) and doctors of osteopathy ( DOs), both of

whom register with the N. C. Medical Board, are grouped together. Physicians are classified by specialty

according to the self- reported primary specialty indicated on their Application for Registration with the

N. C. Medical Board. Physicians whose primary and/ or secondary specialty has changed since 2005 were

checked against specialty data provided by the N. C. Medical Society. Physician data in this report are

classified by residency- training status in 2006 and federal or non- federal employment status. The

physician data reported in this publication are for non- resident licensed physicians who are not currently

participating in one of the postgraduate medical education programs listed in Table 1.

1 For physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants, individuals who

report that they are not actively employed in physical therapy or occupational therapy but are seeking employment in physical or

occupational therapy are also considered active. These are the only professions that have data available on whether individuals are

seeking employment.

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Within the category of non- resident physicians are federal and non- federal physicians. Physicians

included in the federal category have reported that their principal employer is the federal government.

These individuals may have primary practice settings in a health facility in a military installation,

Department of Veterans Affairs, U. S. Public Health Service, Indian Health Service, or other federal health

facility. Because their practices are in community settings, all National Health Service Corps physicians

are included in the non- federal category, except for uniformed Public Health Service physicians who may

be in a Health Service Corps placement. The N. C. Medical Board supplied federal physician data

reported in this document. Federal physicians practicing in government facilities are not required to be

licensed by the N. C. Medical Board to practice medicine in North Carolina, so the numbers for federal

physicians reported in this publication may fall short of the actual numbers of federal physicians in the

state. Federal providers are not asked to specify their employment setting on the annual registration

renewal form; therefore, military providers cannot be subcategorized within the federal providers

category.

Beginning in 2003, physicians indicating non- federal status were checked against primary practice

setting. Physicians who indicated non- federal status but whose primary practice address was in a

military setting were reclassified as federal physicians.

The N. C. Board of Nursing requires biennial registration ( on the birth month) for the state’s

registered nurses ( RNs) and licensed practical nurses ( LPNs) with half of the state’s RNs and LPNs

registering with the Board each year. Therefore, the report includes data on the 50% of RNs and LPNs

who renewed their registration in 2006, and data for the remaining 50% who renewed their registration in

their birth month of the previous year. Additionally, the N. C. Psychology Board requires biennial

registration. Both the Board of Nursing and the Psychology Board update their data in non- renewal

years to reflect address changes and deceased practitioners.

Population Data

The 2006 projected population data reported in this publication were downloaded from Log Into

North Carolina ( LINC), the State Data Center’s online data system ( http:// www. linc. state. nc. us)

administered through the Office of State Budget and Management. The 2006 population data are

projected numbers as the 2006 estimates were not available at the time of publication. The 2005

population figures are based on the April 1, 2000 Census. Ratios of health professionals reported are per

10,000 population.

Demographic and Economic Data

This publication includes additional health, vital statistics and socio- demographic data. The

majority of these data are available online via the websites of the specific source agencies or through

LINC. A list of the variable names, numbers, definitions, and the source of data by variable number can

be found in Appendix II: Definition of Terms. All county and substate regional level health professions data

provided in this publication are also available online at http:// www. shepscenter. unc. edu/ hp. The infant

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mortality rates reported in the 2006 State Totals, Non- Metropolitan/ Metropolitan counties, Area Health

Education Centers, Health Service Areas, the Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources,

and the Perinatal Care regions are computed as a one year rate. Prior to 2003 the Data Book reported

regional infant mortality based on a five year rate.

This publication reports the number of general hospital discharges in 2005 from acute care, short-stay

hospitals by county of patient residence. The year 2006 general hospital discharges were not

available at the time this report was compiled. The data exclude normal newborn discharges ( DRG 391).

These data are made available through the LINC Data Base.

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S u m m a r y o f T r e n d s i n N o r t h C a r o l i n a

H e a l t h P r o f e s s i o n a l S u p p l y

The overall number of health professionals in North Carolina grew from November 2005 to

October 2006. Table 2 below summarizes the number of health professionals licensed in the past

two years and the percent change in those numbers between 2005 and 2006.

Table 2: North Carolina Health Professions Statistics: 2005 and 2006

Active in Profession ( October) 2

2005 2006 Percent Change

Physicians

Non- federal, not in training 17,895 18,396 2.80%

Primary Care Specialties 7,660 7,984 4.23%

Family Practice 2,452 2,568 4.73%

General Practice 141 132 - 6.38%

Internal Medicine 2,652 2,805 5.77%

Obstetrics/ Gynecology 988 995 0.71%

Pediatrics 1,427 1,484 3.99%

Other Specialties 10,235 10,412 1.73%

Federal3 563 550 - 2.31%

Residency Training 2,615 2,723 4.13%

Nurses

Registered Nurses 79,835 82,303 3.09%

Certified Nurse Midwives 198 203 2.53%

Nurse Practitioners4 2,440 2,641 8.24%

Licensed Practical Nurses 16,960 17,295 1.98%

Other Health Professionals

Chiropractors 1,207 1,198 - 0.75%

Occupational Therapists N/ A 2,041 N/ A

Occupational Therapy Assistants N/ A 895 N/ A

Optometrists 896 943 5.25%

Pharmacists5 7,618 7,873 3.35%

Physical Therapists 3,749 3,988 6.38%

Physical Therapist Assistants 1,859 1,959 5.38%

Physician Assistants 2,674 2,826 5.68%

Podiatrists 245 252 2.86%

Practicing Psychologists 1,674 1,745 4.24%

Psychological Associates 905 903 - 0.22%

Respiratory Therapists 3,413 3,554 4.13%

Dentists and Dental Hygienists

Dentists 3,772 3,858 2.28%

Dental Hygienists 4,397 4,714 7.21%

2 Data are for in- state professionals; includes unknown activity status.

3 Includes federal physicians in the armed services, U. S. Public Health Service, Indian Health Service, and the Department of

Veterans Affairs. Federal physicians practicing in government facilities are not required to be licensed in the state and therefore these

data may underestimate actual supply.

4 Data on Nurse Practitioners are from the N. C. Medical Board.

5 Data released in previous years underestimated the total number of pharmacists in the state. This table uses the revised data for 2005

and 2006.

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The majority of health professions saw moderate growth in 2006. The number of primary care

physicians increased 4.2% (+ 324) from 2005 to 2006. Internal medicine (+ 153, 5.8%) and family practice

(+ 116, 4.7%) physicians also expanded. This year, obstetrician- gynecologists (+ 7, 0.71%) showed only a

very slight increase over 2005 numbers while there was another decrease in the number of general

practitioners from 141 to 132 (- 6.4%). The largest percentage increases in other health professions were

seen by nurse practitioners (+ 201, 8.2%), dental hygienists (+ 317, 7.2%), physical therapists (+ 239, 6.4%),

and physician assistants (+ 152, 5.7%). In 2006 there were moderate increases in the supply of physical

therapist assistants (+ 100, + 5.4%), optometrists (+ 47, 5.3%), practicing psychologists (+ 71, + 4.2%),

respiratory therapists (+ 141, 4.1%), pharmacists (+ 255, 3.3%), and registered nurses (+ 2,468, 3.1%) and

small increases in podiatrists (+ 7, 2.9%), certified nurse midwives (+ 5, + 2.5%), dentists (+ 86, + 2.3%), and

licensed practical nurses (+ 335, + 2.0%). Psychological associates experienced a slight decrease (- 2, -

0.22%), as did chiropractors (- 9, - 0.75).

CHANGES IN SUPPLY

Physicians

Figure 1 depicts the annual growth, over the past 10 years, of the total number of active

licensed physicians practicing in North Carolina, excluding those in residency training or employed

by the federal government. The 2.80% (+ 501) growth of physicians licensed by the N. C. Medical

Board between 2005 and 2006 marks a second year of relatively large growth in supply after the

slowing growth trend seen in previous years.

Figure 1: Yearly Increase in the Number of Licensed Physicians

1996‐ 2006

4.2%

5.4%

2.2%

2.9% 2.9%

2.3%

1.9%

1.5%

3.1% 2.8%

0.0%

1.0%

2.0%

3.0%

4.0%

5.0%

6.0%

7.0%

96- 97

97- 98

98- 99

99- 00

00- 01

01- 02

02- 03

03- 04

04- 05

05- 06

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Prior to 1997, physician licensure renewal was a biennial process that, through 1994, was held in

even- numbered years. In 1995, a switch was made to odd- numbered years. However, in 1997, licensure

renewal became an annual process.

In 2006, almost every county in North Carolina had at least one physician reporting a primary

practice location; the fewest were found in the following counties: Camden ( 1), Tyrrell ( 1), Gates ( 1) and

Perquimans ( 2). Hyde lost its sole practitioner in 2006, resulting in no physician reporting a primary

practice location in the county. Fifty counties experienced an increase in the number of physicians, sixteen

had no change in supply, and thirty- four counties lost physicians. Counties with the largest percentage

growth in the supply of physicians between 2005 and 2006 include Caswell (+ 4, 44.4%), Currituck (+ 2,

33.3%), and Lincoln, (+ 11, 25.0%). The largest numeric growth was observed in Wake (+ 156, 9.59%) and

Mecklenburg (+ 116, 5.70%) The largest reduction in numbers was in Orange County (- 60, - 5.29%).

The supply of primary care physicians6 in North Carolina increased at a greater rate ( 4.23%) than

the total physician supply ( 2.80%) in 2006. This subset of the physician profession experienced several

years of highly variable growth rates from 1993 to 2000. Since 2000 the supply has shown greater stability.

Forty- seven counties increased their numbers of primary care physicians, with Caswell (+ 4, 50.0%) and

Currituck (+ 2, 50.0%) experiencing the largest percentage gains. Mecklenburg (+ 68, 8.5%) and Wake (+ 63,

9.1%) counties gained the most primary care physicians. The number of primary care physicians

remained stable in seventeen counties, and thirty- six counties had a reduction in supply. The largest

numeric decrease was in Orange County (- 21, - 5.1%). Of the ten counties with the largest percentage

growth, seven were recovering after a loss of providers in the previous year and three had no change in

supply in 2005.

Nurse Practitioners, Certified Nurse Midwives and Physician Assistants

The 8.2% (+ 201) expansion in the nurse practitioner ( NP) numbers in 2006 marks twelve years of

substantial annual growth. Four counties had no nurse practitioners ( Alexander, Camden, Gates, and

Washington) 7 with Alexander losing its sole practitioner after gaining one for the first time in 2005 and

Washington losing both of its practitioners. Four counties had only one NP ( Alleghany, Currituck,

Martin, and Tyrrell) in 2006. In total, forty- six counties increased their supply of nurse practitioners,

while thirty- three lost providers and twenty- one experienced no change.

The state’s certified nurse midwives ( CNMs) data show a 2.5% (+ 5) increase in supply between

2005 and 2006, improving on last year’s 1.5% (+ 3) growth rate. Edgecombe, Harnett, Moore, Nash, and

Person counties each added one practitioner after having none in 2005. Overall, fifteen counties saw their

CNM supply rise, sixty- eight experienced no change, and seventeen counties lost providers8. Hertford,

Macon, Madison, Richmond, and Stanley counties each lost their sole CNM in 2006. However, Vance

6 Primary care physicians are those who report their primary specialty as family practice, general practice, internal medicine,

pediatrics or obstetrics/ gynecology.

7 Data are based on primary practice location; there may be NPs with secondary or other practice locations in these counties.

8 Data are based on primary practice location only; there may be CNMs with secondary or other practice locations in these counties.

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County gained two midwives after having none in 2005. The net result was that fifty- one counties in

North Carolina had no CNMs in 2006, down one from fifty- two in 2005.

This year’s 5.7% (+ 152) increase in physician assistants ( PAs) marks another year of fluctuating

growth for the profession. In 2006, forty- four counties expanded their PA supply, with Chatham County

(+ 3) quadrupling its numbers. Gates, Jones, and Pamlico counties each lost their sole provider, joining

four other counties that had no PAs in 2006 ( Camden, Hyde, Tyrrell, and Warren). Twenty- six counties

experienced no change in their PA supply while thirty counties decreased their PA supply.

Registered Nurses and Licensed Practical Nurses

The registered nurse ( RN) data showed a 3.1% (+ 2,468) rise in numbers of RNs in the state

between 2005 and 2006, the largest growth rate reported since 2001. Seventy- five counties expanded their

RN supply in 2006. Two counties ( Clay and Pamlico) had no change in their RN supply and RN numbers

declined in twenty- three counties. Mecklenberg had the greatest number of RNs with 9,091 active in the

county. Tyrrell had the fewest with thirteen RNs, followed by Camden with sixteen.

The supply of licensed practical nurses ( LPNs) grew by 2.0% (+ 335) between 2005 and 2006. This

year’s growth rate is the largest reported in the past decade. Fifty- six counties increased their numbers of

LPNs, forty counties lost LPNs and four counties did not show any change. Yadkin experienced the

greatest percentage gain (+ 10, 26.3%) and Alleghany had the greatest percentage loss (- 5, - 35.7%).

Dentists and Dental Hygienists

Between 2005 and 2006, North Carolina experienced a 2.3% (+ 86) increase in its supply of

dentists. Twenty- four counties showed reduced numbers of dentists between 2005 and 2006, thirty- nine

counties had no change in their supply of dentists, and thirty- seven counties saw their supply of dentists

rise. The counties of Camden, Gates, Hyde, and Tyrell remained the only four in the state without a

dentist indicating a primary practice location. Bertie, Graham, Jones, and Northampton each have only

one dentist. The only three counties reporting supply changes greater than twenty- five percent were

Alleghany (- 1, - 50.0%), Caswell (- 1, - 33.3%), and Yadkin ( - 2, - 33.3%).

In 2006, there was a 7.2% (+ 317) rise in the number of dental hygienists registered with the Board

of Dental Examiners. This increase marks the largest year to year growth in the profession in the past

decade. Sixty counties showed growth in 2006 while seventeen counties experienced a decrease in their

supply of hygienists. There were twenty- three counties with no change in their number of hygienists.

Two counties had only one hygienist with a primary practice location ( Currituck and Jones) and Camden

lost its sole hygienist, joining four other counties that did not possess any ( Bertie, Gates, Hyde and

Tyrrell) in 2006.

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Pharmacists

Data released in previous years underestimated the total number of licensed pharmacists in the

state. This publication uses the newly revised data to show changes in the true supply from 2005 to 2006.

Revised data for 2004, 2005, and 2006 are available on the Health Professions Data System website

( http:// www. shepscenter. unc. edu/ hp/). The supply of pharmacists grew 3.3% (+ 255) from 2005 to 2006.

This year’s growth is on par with the 2.3% (+ 172) change experienced from 2004 to 2005 and the 3.2%

(+ 228) expansion from 2003 to 2004. From 2005 to 2006, the supply of pharmacists grew in 52 counties,

with Wake county experiencing the largest raw number increase (+ 57, 6.8%). In 2006, Camden and Hyde

were the only counties without a pharmacist indicating a practice location. Tyrrell retained its sole

pharmacist and was the only county with just one provider. Twenty- nine counties lost pharmacists; the

largest reduction in numbers occurred in Davidson (- 12, - 14.5%) and Durham (- 10, - 1.6%). Greene (- 2, -

33.3%) had the largest percentage decrease, followed by Clay (- 2, - 25.0%) and Perquimans (- 1, - 25.0%).

Nineteen counties had no change in numbers.

Physical Therapists and Physical Therapist Assistants

Between 2005 and 2006, the supply of licensed physical therapists ( PTs) grew 6.4% (+ 239). Fifty-seven

counties expanded their supply of PTs, nineteen lost PTs, and twenty- four counties had no change

in numbers. Perquimans gained a sole provider, its first since 1998. Bertie lost two PTs and Hyde lost one

to join three other counties ( Camden, Gates, and Tyrrell) without a provider in 2006. The number of

physical therapist assistants ( PTAs) increased 5.4% (+ 100) in 2006, maintaining a three- year trend of

stable growth in the profession. Fifty counties expanded their supply of PTAs, twenty- two lost PTAs, and

twenty- eight counties had no change in numbers. Washington (+ 4, 133.3%) and Pamlico (+ 2, 200.0%)

more than doubled their supply of PTAs. Camden and Clay have not had any PTAs since 2003.

Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy Assistants

Occupational therapists ( OTs) are new to the Health Professions Data System in 2006. There are

seven counties with no occupational therapists and seven counties with only one practitioner.

Mecklenberg offers the greatest number of OTs, with 251 registered in the county, followed by Wake with

249. Occupational therapy assistants ( OTAs) are also new this year. Eight counties in North Carolina do

not have any OTAs and sixteen counties have one provider. Of the seven counties without an

occupational therapist, four of these do not have an occupational therapy assistant ( Camden, Hyde,

Perquimans, Tyrrell).

Psychologists and Psychological Associates

The number of practicing psychologists in North Carolina increased 4.2% (+ 71) between 2005

and 2006. This is the second year of growth in the profession after a 2.6% decrease in supply in 2004.

There were twenty- six counties without a practicing psychologist in 2006 and fourteen counties had only

2 0 0 6 N . C . H e a l t h P r o f e s s i o n s D a t a B o o k

11

one psychologist. During 2006, eighteen counties lost psychologists, fifty- four counties had no change in

numbers and twenty- eight counties gained practicing psychologists. During 2006, the supply of

psychological associates decreased slightly (- 2, - 0.2%), returning to a trend of lessening supply after a

small increase in 2005. Overall, thirty counties lost psychological associates and seventeen counties had

none in 2006. Three counties, Caswell, Franklin, and Northampton, lost their lone provider while

Brunswick and Davie each gained a sole provider. Forty- five counties experienced no change, and

twenty- five gained psychological associates. Seventeen counties had only one provider.

Podiatrists, Optometrists and Chiropractors

In 2006, the podiatry workforce experienced a slight increase (+ 7, 2.9%). Eight counties gained

podiatrists, including Chowan (+ 1) which reported a podiatrist for the first time since data collection

began in 1979. Three counties lost podiatrists, and eighty- nine had no change in numbers. Forty- one

counties had no podiatrists. Dare and Sampson each lost one provider, for a 50.0% decrease in supply.

The largest numeric changes occurred in Mecklenburg (+ 2, 6.9%) and Pitt (+ 2, 25.0%). Together, Forsyth,

Guilford, Mecklenburg, and Wake accounted for more than one- third ( 36.9%) of all podiatrists in the state

( 93 out of 252).

North Carolina’s optometrist workforce expanded by 5.2% (+ 47) in 2006, the largest increase

posted in the past ten years and a return to growth after a slight decrease in supply in 2005. Twenty-seven

counties gained providers, fourteen lost providers, and fifty- nine counties experienced no change.

Ten counties had no optometrists; eight of these ten have had none since 1993. Anson and Yadkin each

doubled their supply with the addition of one more optometrist. Orange (- 2, - 12.5%) lost the greatest

number of optometrists while Wake (+ 13, 12.3%) gained the most.

Between 2005 and 2006, North Carolina’s count of chiropractors dropped by - 0.75% (- 9). This is

the first loss in supply since 1993. In 2006, twenty- two counties increased their number of providers,

twenty- one lost providers, and fifty- seven experienced no change. Martin and Mitchell each doubled

their supply with the addition of one chiropractor. Warren lost the sole provider that it gained in 2005,

joining twelve other counties that have no chiropractors. Of these thirteen, eight counties have remained

without any chiropractors since 1979. Orange had the greatest numeric gain (+ 3, 13.6%) and Wake had

the greatest numeric loss (- 5, - 3.3%). Mecklenburg and Wake again accounted for a large proportion of

chiropractors in the state ( 28.4%, 340 out of 1,198).

Respiratory Therapists

The number of respiratory therapists ( RTs) in North Carolina showed a steady rate of increase

with a 4.1% (+ 141) growth rate for the second year since the profession was added to the Health

Professions Data System in 2004. From 2005 to 2006, forty- nine counties gained providers, twenty- three

lost providers, and twenty- eight had no change. There are fifteen counties with no respiratory therapists

2 0 0 6 N . C . H e a l t h P r o f e s s i o n s D a t a B o o k

12

and two counties, Clay and Yadkin, with only one practitioner. Mecklenburg experienced the largest

numeric change (+ 29, 7.3%).

CHANGES IN PRACTITIONER TO POPULATION RATIOS

North Carolina’s population increased 1.7% between 2005 and 2006, more than the 1.4% growth

rate experienced the previous year9. Any examination of the changes in the supply and distribution of the

health care workforce must take into account North Carolina’s population growth rate, as well as the

differences in population growth rates across counties of the state. To account for these factors, changes in

health professional supply are illustrated in this section by examining the number of health care

professionals per 10,000 people10. The practitioner per 10,000 population ratio provides a better

mechanism to compare the supply and distribution of health professionals across varying geographic

areas than the use of simple raw counts. Tables 3 through 13 ( except Table 5) include the ten highest and

lowest ranked North Carolina counties based on active physicians, primary care physicians, registered

nurses, dentists, and pharmacists per 10,000 population.

Table 5 provides the physician and primary care physician ratios per 10,000 population for the

United States, North Carolina, and selected states that border North Carolina based on American Medical

Association ( AMA) data. Caution should be used in comparing these figures to the ratios shown

elsewhere in the data book because of differences in the data collection efforts at the AMA; the AMA

master file relies on survey data and is updated throughout the year while the North Carolina licensure

data are collected in October of every year.

Table 14 shows the practitioner per 10,000 population ratios for all North Carolina counties in

alphabetical order. Similar to Table 2, those licensed professionals for whom activity status is

“ unknown” are included in the “ active” category. Professionals are only counted once and are located in

counties based on primary practice location.

Physicians per 10,000 Population Ratio

The 2006 ratio of N. C. physicians per 10,000 population increased slightly to 20.8, up from 20.7 in

2005. The counties with the ten largest and ten smallest ratios in 2006 are included in Tables 3 and 4 on

the following page.

9 The population change reported here was calculated using the July 1, 2005 population estimate and the July 1, 2006 projection as

reported by the NC State Center for Health Statistics ( http:// www. schs. state. nc. us/ SCHS/).

10 Publications of this document prior to the 1999 edition reported population per health professional ratios.

2 0 0 6 N . C . H e a l t h P r o f e s s i o n s D a t a B o o k

13

Table 3: Counties with the Largest Physicians per 10,000 Population Ratios, 2006 vs. 2005

2006

Rank County

2006 Total

Physicians

2006 Total

Population

2006 Physicians per

10,000 Population

2005 Physicians per

10,000 Population

2005

Rank

1 Orange 1,075 123,762 86.9 92.7 1

2 Durham 1,657 246,825 67.1 68.5 2

3 Pitt 655 146,398 44.7 45.1 3

4 Forsyth 1,350 331,851 40.7 40.8 4

5 Buncombe 786 221,327 35.5 35.0 5

6 New Hanover 606 184,116 32.9 33.3 6

7 Moore 244 82,288 29.7 29.4 7

8 Jones 29 10,318 28.1 23.5 12

9 Pasquotank 104 39,968 26.0 26.5 8

10 Mecklenburg 2151 826,897 26.0 25.9 9

Table 4: Counties with the Smallest Physicians per 10,000 Population Ratios, 2006 vs. 2005

2006

Rank County

2006 Total

Physicians

2006 Total

Population

2006 Physicians per

10,000 Population

2005 Physicians per

10,000 Population

2005

Rank

100 Hyde 0 5,511 0.0 1.8 96

99 Gates 1 11,563 0.9 0.9 100

98 Camden 1 9,298 1.1 1.1 99

97 Warren 3 19,969 1.5 1.5 98

96 Perquimans 2 12,464 1.6 1.7 97

95 Tyrrell 1 4,248 2.4 2.4 95

94 Greene 5 20,839 2.4 3.5 91

93 Montgomery 8 27,505 2.9 4.0 88

92 Northampton 7 21,522 3.3 4.2 87

91 Hoke 14 42,186 3.3 3.3 92

According to the data from the AMA and the U. S. Census Bureau, as seen in Table 5, there were,

on average, about 24.8 physicians per 10,000 population in the United States at the beginning of 2004.

This is up slightly from 22.8 in 2003. According to the AMA data, North Carolina’s ratio was 22.5, slightly

lower than the national average.

Table 5: Physicians & Primary Care Physicians per 10,000 Population, US and Selected States, 2004

AMA Physician Data: US Physician/

10,000 Pop

NC Physician/

10,000 Pop

GA Physician/

10,000 Pop

SC Physician/

10,000 Pop

TN Physician/

10,000 Pop

VA Physician/

10,000 Pop

Total Physicians * 24.77 22.45 20.10 21.08 23.68 23.81

Primary Care Physicians** 10.19 9.07 8.63 8.89 9.66 10.01

Sources: Area Resource File, Bureau of Health Professions; National Center for Health Workforce Analysis; Health Resources and

Services Administration; Department of Health and Human Services; data from AMA Master file, effective 12/ 31/ 04; resident total

population estimates by state and national resident total population estimates U. S. Census Bureau “ Table 1: Annual Estimates of the

Population for the United States and States, and for Puerto Rico: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2005” < http:// www. census. gov/ popest/

states/ tables/ NST- EST2005- 01. xls > Release Date: December 22, 2005.

* Active, nonfederal physicians, excluding residents/ fellows.

** Active, nonfederal physicians, excluding residents/ fellows with specialties of family practice, general practice, internal medicine,

obstetrics/ gynecology, and pediatrics.

2 0 0 6 N . C . H e a l t h P r o f e s s i o n s D a t a B o o k

14

Compared to adjacent states, North Carolina has fewer physicians per 10,000 population than Tennessee

and Virginia, but more physicians per population than Georgia and South Carolina. As mentioned

earlier, the county- and state- level ratios using the N. C. Medical Board data are difficult to compare with

the AMA figures due to differences in methodology and timing of data collection and reporting.

Primary Care Physicians per 10,000 Population Ratio

On average, there were 9.0 primary care physicians per 10,000 population in North Carolina in

2006, a slight increase from 8.8 in 2005. Tables 6 and 7 illustrate the counties with the largest and the

smallest primary care physician per 10,000 ratios.

Table 6: Counties with the Largest Primary Care Physicians per 10,000 Population Ratios, 2006 vs. 2005

2006

Rank County

2006 Total

Primary Care

Physicians

2006 Total

Population

2006 Primary Care

Physicians per

10,000 Population

2005 Primary Care

Physicians per 10,000

Population

2005

Rank

1 Orange 392 123,762 31.7 33.7 1

2 Durham 540 246,825 21.9 22.5 2

3 Jones 21 10,318 20.4 18.6 3

4 Pitt 262 146,398 17.9 18.1 4

5 Buncombe 331 221,327 15.0 14.3 5

6 Forsyth 464 331,851 14.0 13.2 6

7 Mitchell 22 15,894 13.8 9.9 18

8 Chowan 19 14,677 12.9 11.7 10

9 Swain 18 13,940 12.9 11.8 9

10 New Hanover 237 184,116 12.9 12.7 7

Table 7: Counties with the Smallest Primary Care Physicians per 10,000 Population Ratios, 2006 vs. 2005

2006

Rank County

2006 Total

Primary Care

Physicians

2006 Total

Population

2006 Primary Care

Physicians per 10,000

Population

2005 Primary Care

Physicians per 10,000

Population

2005

Rank

100 Hyde 0 5,511 0.0 1.8 95

99 Gates 1 11,563 0.9 0.9 100

98 Camden 1 9,298 1.1 1.1 99

97 Warren 3 19,969 1.5 1.5 98

96 Perquimans 2 12,464 1.6 1.7 97

95 Northampton 4 21,522 1.9 2.8 91

94 Tyrrell 1 4,248 2.4 2.4 92

93 Greene 5 20,839 2.4 3.5 90

92 Currituck 6 23,580 2.5 1.8 96

91 Stokes 13 46,334 2.8 2.8 95

According to the national AMA data ( see Table 5 on page 13) which, as mentioned previously,

has differences in data collection and timing of collection, there were 10.2 primary care physicians per

10,000 population on average in the United States at the beginning of 2004. This compares to a ratio in

2 0 0 6 N . C . H e a l t h P r o f e s s i o n s D a t a B o o k

15

North Carolina of 9.1 primary care physicians per 10,000 population11. Tennessee and Virginia had larger

numbers of primary care physicians per 10,000 population than North Carolina ( with ratios of 9.7 and

10.0 respectively), and Georgia and South Carolina had smaller ratios ( with ratios of 8.6 and 8.9

respectively).

Dentists per 10,000 Population Ratio

North Carolina had 4.4 dentists per 10,000 population in 2006, the same ratio that was found in

2005. National statistics show a ratio of 6.5 dentists per 10,000 population in 200612. Caution should be

used in comparing these national figures to the ratios shown elsewhere in the book because of differences

in the data collection efforts of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tables 8 and 9 report the counties with the

ten largest and ten smallest supply of dentists per 10,000 population ratios in 2006. Of the four counties

tied for 100, three— Camden, Hyde and Tyrrell— have not had a dentist with a primary practice location

in the county since 1995 while Gates lost its only dentist in 2005.

Table 8: Counties with the Largest Dentists per 10,000 Population Ratio, 2006 vs. 2005

2006

Rank County

2006 Total

Dentists

2006 Total

Population

2006 Dentists per

10,000 Population

2005 Dentists per

10,000 Population

2005

Rank

1 Orange 136 123,762 11.0 11.8 1

2 New Hanover 134 184,116 7.3 6.9 2

3 Durham 167 246,825 6.8 6.3 6

4 Wake 533 789,969 6.7 6.7 3

5 Mecklenburg 530 826,897 6.4 6.3 7

6 Dare 22 34,730 6.3 5.7 8

7 Buncombe 140 221,327 6.3 6.5 4

8 Moore 52 82,288 6.3 6.5 5

9 Watauga 26 43,406 6.0 5.4 11

10 Forsyth 191 331,851 5.8 5.7 9

11 Source: Area Resource File, Bureau of Health Professions; National Center for Health Workforce Analysis; Health Resources and

Services Administration; Department of Health and Human Services; data from AMA Master file, effective 12/ 31/ 04; resident total

population estimates by state and national resident total population estimates U. S. Census Bureau “ Table 1: Annual Estimates of the

Population for the United States and States, and for Puerto Rico: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2005” < http:// www. census. gov/ popest/

states/ tables/ NST- EST2005- 01. xls > Release Date: December 22, 2005.

12 Bureau of Labor Statistics; “ Employed persons by detailed occupation, sex, race, and Hispanic origin;”

ftp:// ftp. bls. gov/ pub/ special. requests/ lf/ aat11. txt; ( accessed: July 24, 2007). National resident total population estimates “ Table

1: Annual Estimates of the Population for the United States and States, and for Puerto Rico: April 1, 2000 to July 1 ,2006”

< http:// www. census. gov/ popest/ states/ tables/ NST- EST2006- 01. xls > Release Date: December 22, 2006 ( accessed: July 24, 2007).

2 0 0 6 N . C . H e a l t h P r o f e s s i o n s D a t a B o o k

16

Table 9: Counties with the Smallest Dentists per 10,000 Population Ratio, 2006 vs. 2005

2006

Rank County

2006 Total

Dentists

2006 Total

Population

2006 Dentists per

10,000 Population

2005 Dentists per

10,000 Population

2005

Rank

100 Camden 0 9,298 0.0 0.0 100

100 Gates 0 11,563 0.0 0.0 100

100 Hyde 0 5,511 0.0 0.0 100

100 Tyrrell 0 4,248 0.0 0.0 100

96 Northampton 1 21,522 0.5 0.5 96

95 Bertie 1 19,352 0.5 0.5 96

94 Caswell 2 23,541 0.8 1.3 89

93 Alleghany 1 11,000 0.9 1.8 76

92 Jones 1 10,318 1.0 1.0 94

91 Madison 2 20,449 1.0 1.0 93

Registered Nurses per 10,000 Population Ratio

The average number of registered nurses ( RNs) per 10,000 population increased slightly from

92.1 in 2005 to 92.9 in 2006. North Carolina’s supply of RNs per 10,000 population is higher than the most

current national statistic of 84.5 RNs per 10,000 population in 2006. Caution should be used in comparing

these national figures to the ratios shown elsewhere in the book because of differences in the data

collection efforts of the Bureau of Labor Statistics13. Tables 10 and 11 represent the counties with the

largest and the smallest registered nurses per 10,000 population ratios in year 2006.

Table 10: Counties with the Largest Registered Nurses per 10,000 Population Ratio, 2006 vs. 2005

2006

Rank County

2006 Total

Registered Nurses

2006 Total

Population

2006 RNs per

10,000 Population

2005 RNs per

10,000 Population

2005

Rank

1 Orange 2,693 123,762 217.6 213.4 1

2 Durham 5,210 246,825 211.1 208.8 2

3 Pitt 2,832 146,398 193.4 184.1 3

4 Forsyth 5,586 331,851 168.3 166.3 4

5 Buncombe 3,685 221,327 166.5 164.8 5

6 New Hanover 2,646 184,116 143.7 144.2 6

7 Moore 1,097 82,288 133.3 131.2 7

8 Hertford 275 23,901 115.1 112.8 10

9 Guilford 5,075 449,071 113.0 111.5 12

10 Catawba 1,695 151,126 112.2 112.6 11

13 Bureau of Labor Statistics; “ Employed persons by detailed occupation, sex, race, and Hispanic origin;”

ftp:// ftp. bls. gov/ pub/ special. requests/ lf/ aat11. txt; ( accessed: July 24, 2007). National resident total population estimates “ Table

1: Annual Estimates of the Population for the United States and States, and for Puerto Rico: April 1, 2000 to July 1 ,2006”

< http:// www. census. gov/ popest/ states/ tables/ NST- EST2006- 01. xls > Release Date: December 22, 2006 ( accessed: July 24, 2007).

2 0 0 6 N . C . H e a l t h P r o f e s s i o n s D a t a B o o k

17

Table 11: Counties with the Smallest Registered Nurses per 10,000 Population Ratio, 2006 vs. 2005

2006

Rank County

2006 Total

Registered Nurses

2006 Total

Population

2006 RNs per

10,000 Population

2005 RNs per

10,000 Population

2005

Rank

100 Camden 16 9,298 17.2 19.1 100

99 Warren 35 19,969 17.5 19.9 99

98 Perquimans 22 12,464 17.7 21.8 97

97 Gates 22 11,563 19.0 20.8 98

96 Caswell 50 23,541 21.2 24.3 96

95 Currituck 60 23,580 25.4 28.7 93

94 Hoke 114 42,186 27.0 26.9 94

93 Stokes 126 46,334 27.2 26.6 95

92 Tyrrell 13 4,248 30.6 33.5 86

91 Yadkin 117 37,810 30.9 34.0 85

Pharmacists per 10,000 Population Ratio

On average, the state had 8.9 licensed pharmacists per 10,000 population in 2006, up slightly from

8.4 in 2005. The national ratio is 8.2 licensed pharmacists per 10,000 population14. Again, the reader is

cautioned to use care in comparing these national figures to the ratios shown elsewhere in the book

because of differences in the data collection efforts of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. See Tables 12 and 13

for the North Carolina counties ranking the highest and lowest pharmacists to population ratios.

Table 12: Counties with the Largest Pharmacists per 10,000 Population Ratio15, 2006 vs. 2005

2006

Rank County

2006 Total

Pharmacists

2006 Total

Population

2006 Pharmacists per

10,000 Population

2005 Pharmacists per

10,000 Population

2005

Rank

1 Durham 637 246,825 25.8 26.7 1

2 Orange 231 123,762 18.7 17.8 2

3 Lenoir 85 58,170 14.6 14.2 3

4 Forsyth 452 331,851 13.6 13.3 4

5 Pitt 186 146,398 12.7 12.7 5

6 Buncombe 275 221,327 12.2 12.2 6

7 Wake 893 789,969 11.3 11.2 7

8 New Hanover 197 184,116 10.7 10.6 8

9 Mecklenburg 841 826,897 10.2 10.0 11

10 Guilford 444 449,071 9.9 9.3 13

14 Bureau of Labor Statistics; “ Employed persons by detailed occupation, sex, race, and Hispanic origin;”

ftp:// ftp. bls. gov/ pub/ special. requests/ lf/ aat11. txt; ( accessed: July 24, 2007). National resident total population estimates “ Table 1:

Annual Estimates of the Population for the United States and States, and for Puerto Rico: April 1, 2000 to July 1 ,2006” <

http:// www. census. gov/ popest/ states/ tables/ NST- EST2006- 01. xls > Release Date: December 22, 2006 ( accessed: July 24, 2007).

15 Data released in previous years underestimated the total number of pharmacists in the state. This table uses the revised data for

2005 and 2006.

2 0 0 6 N . C . H e a l t h P r o f e s s i o n s D a t a B o o k

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Table 13: Counties with the Smallest Pharmacists per 10,000 Population Ratio16, 2006 vs. 2005

2006

Rank County

2006 Total

Pharmacists

2006 Total

Population

2006 Pharmacists per

10,000 Population

2005 Pharmacists per

10,000 Population

2005

Rank

100 Camden 0 9,298 0.0 0.0 100

100 Hyde 0 5,511 0.0 0.0 100

98 Currituck 4 23,580 1.7 1.8 98

97 Greene 4 20,839 1.9 3.0 89

96 Tyrrell 1 4,248 2.4 2.4 95

95 Perquimans 3 12,464 2.4 3.4 87

94 Caswell 6 23,541 2.5 2.5 94

93 Gates 3 11,563 2.6 2.7 92

92 Yadkin 10 37,810 2.6 2.7 93

91 Northampton 6 21,522 2.8 1.9 97

Active Health Professionals per 10,000 Population Ratios for All Counties

Table 14 reports year 2006 data for selected active health professionals per 10,000 population

ratios for physicians, primary care physicians17, dentists, registered nurses, and pharmacists for all

counties listed in alphabetical order.

Table 14: Active Health Professionals per 10,000 Population Ratios, 2006

County

2006 Total

Population

Physicians

per 10,000

Population

Primary Care

Physicians per 10,000

Population

Dentists per

10,000

Population

Registered Nurses

per 10,000

Population

Pharmacists

per 10,000

Population

Alamance 139,786 14.9 6.9 4.6 61.2 7.8

Alexander 36,296 4.7 3.3 1.4 32.5 5.2

Alleghany 11,000 10.9 8.2 0.9 49.1 6.4

Anson 25,372 7.1 3.2 1.6 51.2 3.9

Ashe 25,778 7.4 5.4 1.9 48.1 6.2

Avery 18,174 12.1 6.6 3.3 72.6 9.4

Beaufort 46,344 13.4 6.5 3.7 88.9 6.7

Bertie 19,352 4.7 4.7 0.5 53.7 4.1

Bladen 32,872 7.3 6.1 1.8 47.8 4.6

Brunswick 94,964 9.8 5.3 2.6 46.6 7.0

Buncombe 221,327 35.5 15.0 6.3 166.5 12.2

Burke 88,664 20.9 8.9 3.8 106.1 8.6

Cabarrus 157,176 23.3 11.1 3.1 101.2 9.6

Caldwell 79,297 9.1 5.3 2.9 49.2 5.4

Camden 9,298 1.1 1.1 0.0 17.2 0.0

Carteret 63,557 15.3 6.9 5.5 73.6 8.7

Caswell 23,541 5.5 5.1 0.8 21.2 2.5

Catawba 151,126 23.5 9.1 4.4 112.2 9.3

Chatham 57,708 7.3 5.2 2.8 42.3 5.5

Cherokee 26,727 14.2 7.5 3.4 79.7 9.7

16 Data released in previous years underestimated the total number of pharmacists in the state. This table uses the revised data for

2005 and 2006.

17 Primary care physicians are those who report their primary specialty as family practice, general practice, internal medicine,

pediatrics, or obstetrics/ gynecology.

2 0 0 6 N . C . H e a l t h P r o f e s s i o n s D a t a B o o k

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County

2006 Total

Population

Physicians

per 10,000

Population

Primary Care

Physicians per 10,000

Population

Dentists per

10,000

Population

Registered Nurses

per 10,000

Population

Pharmacists

per 10,000

Population

Chowan 14,677 21.8 12.9 2.7 98.1 5.5

Clay 10,116 5.9 4.9 4.0 40.5 5.9

Cleveland 96,720 17.8 8.5 3.1 87.0 6.3

Columbus 54,666 10.4 5.3 2.0 81.8 9.5

Craven 95,566 20.9 7.5 4.4 101.2 8.2

Cumberland 306,545 15.9 7.5 3.9 74.4 6.5

Currituck 23,580 3.4 2.5 1.7 25.4 1.7

Dare 34,730 13.5 7.2 6.3 63.3 7.8

Davidson 155,343 8.0 4.8 1.7 46.0 4.6

Davie 39,838 5.3 4.3 2.5 32.6 5.5

Duplin 52,708 6.5 5.5 1.9 52.2 5.7

Durham 246,825 67.1 21.9 6.8 211.1 25.8

Edgecombe 52,641 6.3 3.8 1.3 59.3 4.6

Forsyth 331,851 40.7 14.0 5.8 168.3 13.6

Franklin 55,316 4.3 2.9 1.1 41.2 3.6

Gaston 197,232 18.0 8.5 3.7 74.0 8.1

Gates 11,563 0.9 0.9 0.0 19.0 2.6

Graham 8,106 4.9 4.9 1.2 44.4 4.9

Granville 53,837 13.7 6.3 2.8 96.4 8.7

Greene 20,839 2.4 2.4 2.4 34.6 1.9

Guilford 449,071 24.7 10.5 5.4 113.0 9.9

Halifax 55,601 12.9 7.0 2.5 71.0 6.5

Harnett 103,717 5.0 3.3 1.7 34.2 5.8

Haywood 56,664 18.7 7.8 4.4 73.9 6.9

Henderson 100,106 22.2 10.7 4.6 93.8 8.1

Hertford 23,901 16.3 8.4 4.6 115.1 5.4

Hoke 42,186 3.3 3.1 1.4 27.0 3.1

Hyde 5,511 0.0 0.0 0.0 45.4 0.0

Iredell 145,232 19.2 8.9 4.3 110.0 9.5

Jackson 36,312 21.5 10.7 5.0 90.3 6.3

Johnston 151,589 7.3 4.6 2.0 40.0 6.2

Jones 10,318 28.1 20.4 1.0 47.5 2.9

Lee 55,282 15.4 8.3 3.6 64.6 6.9

Lenoir 58,170 16.8 6.7 4.8 102.1 14.6

Lincoln 71,298 7.7 5.9 2.8 45.0 6.6

McDowell 43,636 6.6 4.8 2.3 60.3 5.3

Macon 33,078 21.5 10.9 3.9 60.5 7.0

Madison 20,449 7.3 6.4 1.0 34.7 3.4

Martin 24,396 7.8 5.7 2.0 54.9 6.6

Mecklenburg 826,897 26.0 10.5 6.4 109.9 10.2

Mitchell 15,894 18.2 13.8 4.4 95.6 8.2

Montgomery 27,505 2.9 2.9 1.8 37.8 6.2

Moore 82,288 29.7 9.0 6.3 133.3 9.0

Nash 92,223 20.1 9.3 4.9 101.2 6.9

New Hanover 184,116 32.9 12.9 7.3 143.7 10.7

Northampton 21,522 3.3 1.9 0.5 31.6 2.8

Onslow 161,224 7.9 4.2 3.4 48.4 4.2

Orange 123,762 86.9 31.7 11.0 217.6 18.7

Pamlico 13,097 4.6 4.6 3.8 34.4 4.6

Pasquotank 39,968 26.0 9.5 3.0 112.1 8.8

Pender 48,726 3.9 2.9 2.1 33.2 4.9

Perquimans 12,464 1.6 1.6 1.6 17.7 2.4

Person 37,440 9.1 5.3 1.9 44.1 7.2

2 0 0 6 N . C . H e a l t h P r o f e s s i o n s D a t a B o o k

20

County

2006 Total

Population

Physicians

per 10,000

Population

Primary Care

Physicians per 10,000

Population

Dentists per

10,000

Population

Registered Nurses

per 10,000

Population

Pharmacists

per 10,000

Population

Pitt 146,398 44.7 17.9 4.4 193.4 12.7

Polk 19,088 13.1 5.8 4.2 80.2 5.8

Randolph 138,582 8.6 4.8 2.5 39.0 4.5

Richmond 46,699 9.9 6.6 2.6 74.5 6.4

Robeson 129,054 10.5 5.4 1.8 62.8 5.6

Rockingham 91,840 11.5 6.3 2.8 51.8 8.8

Rowan 134,538 10.9 5.1 4.0 77.8 7.3

Rutherford 63,177 13.5 7.4 2.5 70.3 7.1

Sampson 64,048 9.1 6.2 1.7 52.5 5.5

Scotland 36,993 15.7 9.2 2.4 84.6 8.4

Stanly 59,126 12.5 7.3 2.9 63.8 6.3

Stokes 46,334 3.9 2.8 1.5 27.2 3.5

Surry 73,000 14.5 8.2 3.3 80.7 7.8

Swain 13,940 14.3 12.9 3.6 79.6 6.5

Transylvania 30,354 14.8 8.9 3.3 74.1 6.6

Tyrrell 4,248 2.4 2.4 0.0 30.6 2.4

Union 172,094 7.8 4.8 2.1 43.1 6.1

Vance 43,925 16.2 8.9 2.3 61.5 8.0

Wake 789,969 22.6 9.6 6.7 100.1 11.3

Warren 19,969 1.5 1.5 2.5 17.5 5.0

Washington 13,364 4.5 3.7 2.2 50.9 4.5

Watauga 43,406 24.4 10.4 6.0 89.6 7.8

Wayne 114,920 15.7 6.9 3.8 86.1 7.3

Wilkes 66,924 10.3 6.3 2.7 61.7 4.8

Wilson 77,472 14.3 6.5 2.7 82.2 9.2

Yadkin 37,810 4.2 4.0 1.1 30.9 2.6

Yancey 18,368 5.4 5.4 2.2 44.1 3.8

State Total 8,860,341 20.8 9.0 4.4 92.9 8.9

2 0 0 6 N . C . H e a l t h P r o f e s s i o n s D a t a B o o k

21

NORTH CAROLINA

COUNTY AND REGIONAL

HEALTH PROFESSIONS

AND

RELATED HEALTH STATISTICS

Alamance

MSA county designation: Metropolitan AHEC Region: Greensboro AHEC

HEALTH- RELATED STATISTICS

DEMOGRAPHICS

Vital Statistics 2005

Employment and Income Data

% Births < 2500 gms 10.7

Teen Pregnancies 337 Teen Pregnancy Rate 64.2

Total Pregnancies 2,277 Total Pregnancy Rate 76.5

Total 11.0 White 9.5

Unemployed 2006 3,866

Employed 2006 66,089

Labor Force 2006 69,955

Unemployment Rate 2006 (%) 5.5

Per Capita Income 2005 $ 27,551

Medicaid Eligibles 2006 24,606

Projected Population 2006

Hospital/ Facility Data

General Hospital Discharges 2005 16,070 General Hospital Beds 2006 182 Nursing Facility Beds 2006 872

Total Ages 0- 19 Ages 20- 64 Ages 65+

139,786

110,461

29,325

38,614

29,516

9,098

82,670

65,326

17,344

18,502

15,619

2,883

2006 ACTIVE HEALTH PROFESSIONALS*

Total

White

Nonwhite

% of Pop.

Physicians

Non- Federal Physicians 208

Primary Care Physicians 97 Nurse Practitioners 25

Family Practice 32

General Practice 1

Internal Medicine 31

Obstetrics/ Gynecology 10

Pediatrics 23

Physician Assistants 21

Licensed Practical Nurses 183

Registered Nurses 855

Federal Physicians 0

Other Specialties 111

Physicians per 10,000 Population 14.9

Primary Care Physicians

per 10,000 Population

6.9

Nurses

Chiropractors 20

Optometrists 17

Pharmacists 109

Physical Therapists 70

Physical Therapist Assistants 12

Podiatrists 4

Practicing Psychologists 11

Psychological Associates 4

**

100.0% 27.6% 59.1% 13.2%

Resident Births 1,820

Resident Deaths 1,359

Nonwhite 17.2

( Rates are per 1,000 population)

( ages 15- 19) ( ages 15- 19)

Infant Mortality Rates 2006

( Rates are per 1,000 population)

Certified Nurse Midwives

+ ++

6

Dentists and Dental Hygienists

Dentists 64

Dental Hygienists 67

Other Health Professionals

Respiratory Therapists 25

Occupational Therapists 30

Occupational Therapy Assistants 6

Numbers reported include those active within the profession and those newly licensed in 2006 with unknown activity status; inactives are excluded

Includes NC Medical Board licensed federal physicians in the armed services, US Public Health Service, Indian Health Service, and the

22 © 2007 UNC Sheps Center for Health Services Research

+ Counts are for discharges of county residents from acute- care, short- stay hospitals; numbers exclude normal newborns.

++ Counts of hospital beds in acute care short stay hospitals in county.