Medical demographics
1,137. This is the number of doctors that France has lost again in 2022, according to the Atlas of Medical Demography of the National Council of the Order of Physicians (-0.5% over one year). That is 234,028 practitioners (all specialties and modes of practice combined) of which 197,417 have regular activity. In the region, there were 21,124 on January 1, 2023, including 17,231 regulars. The number of the latter has fallen by 5.8% in Paca since 2010. And their average age is 51.8 years (34.9% are over 60).
Inequalities
Île-de-France (318.9) and Paca (339.1) are the regions with the highest densities. Per 100,000 inhabitants, access to care varies greatly from one department to another: 418.5 in Hautes-Alpes, 379.6 in Bouches-du-Rhône, 376.4 in Alpes-Maritimes, 269 .5 in Var, 263.8 in Vaucluse and 232.5 in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. More precisely, it is in 84 that the density of general practitioners is the lowest in the region according to ARS data: 147 compared to 165 in 04, 178 in 13 and 291 in 05. And It is in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence that there are fewer dentists: 54 compared to 69 in Vaucluse, 72 in Hautes-Alpes, 96 in Bouches-du-Rhône.
“Historically, Paca has a more favorable density of health professionals than elsewhere. The region is attractive and we have two good medical faculties in Marseille and Nice. But things are changing and Paca is also affected by the scarcity of the resource medical and disparities appear: the hinterland is more impacted than the coast”, underlines Alexis Thibord, director of the local care department of ARS Paca. And to cite reasons for the progression of the phenomenon: “The aging of practitioners; young people who balance their professional and private lives: they are in a logic of settling later and favor replacements, he explains. The principle freedom of installation as well, which does not allow total coverage of the territory; the aging of the general population and the appearance of chronic illnesses which are transforming the demand for care and support.”
France
