What influences national and foreign physicians' geographic distribution? An analysis of medical doctors' residence location in Portugal.

ABSTRACT:

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Background

The debate over physicians' geographical distribution has attracted the attention of the economic and public health literature over the last forty years. Nonetheless, it is still to date unclear what influences physicians' location, and whether foreign physicians contribute to fill the geographical gaps left by national doctors in any given country. The present research sets out to investigate the current distribution of national and international physicians in Portugal, with the objective to understand its determinants and provide an evidence base for policy-makers to identify policies to influence it.

Methods

A cross-sectional study of physicians currently registered in Portugal was conducted to describe the population and explore the associat

SUBMITTER: Russo G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3549747 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature