A recent study has highlighted significant disparities in healthcare access across France, underscoring a prominent rural-urban divide. While urban areas seem relatively well-served, more than half of rural communes struggle with a shortage of healthcare professionals.
In rural France, finding a nearby doctor can often be a challenge, a phenomenon that stands out even among OECD countries for its severity. For instance, residents of Montgenèvre in the Hautes-Alpes enjoy around 40 general practitioner consultations per inhabitant annually. In stark contrast, those living in Vallorcine near Chamonix face a situation where the nearest general practitioner is over a 20-minute drive away.
Recent data from the Directorate of Research, Studies, Evaluation, and Statistics (DREES), linked to the Ministry of Health, confirms these disparities. An interactive map allows citizens to explore how their commune fares concerning access to various primary care services, including general practitioners, midwives, nurses, dentists, and physiotherapists.
The findings reveal that while 50% of rural communes are under-resourced in terms of general practitioners, only 28% of urban communes face similar issues. Coastal areas also tend to have better healthcare access compared to the more rural central regions of the country. Additionally, while access to general practitioners and nurses has slightly diminished since 2022, there have been improvements in services from midwives, dentists, and physiotherapists.
To assess these disparities, communes were categorized based on healthcare accessibility into four groups: “very poorly equipped,” “poorly equipped,” “well equipped,” and “very well equipped.” This classification is based on the Accessibility Potential Localized (APL) indicator developed by DREES, which considers the availability of healthcare professionals relative to population demand and age structure, given that older populations generally require more medical attention.
The APL scores, reflecting the potential number of healthcare consultations or practitioners per 100,000 inhabitants, were rounded for clarity in the interactive map. These scores do not provide a direct count of available healthcare professionals but enable a comparative view among different communes.
This evaluation also incorporates the INSEE’s communal density grid, distinguishing between “rural,” “urban,” and “intermediate” communes based on population density. Through this comprehensive approach, the study offers a clearer picture of the healthcare landscape across France, highlighting the areas most in need of attention.
