MORGANTOWN – While rural healthcare delivery remains a challenge in West Virginia, the state fares comparatively well for the number of available physicians based on population.
Recent articles in Becker’s Hospital Review and KFF Health News give the numbers.
For primary care providers, West Virginia ranks 15th among the 50 states per capita, at 174.13 PCPs per 100,000 residents.
For specialists, West Virginia ranks 23rd, at 158.23 physicians per 100,000 residents.
The high rankings are remarkable, given that West Virginia ranks 39th for population. And in terms of sheer numbers of physicians, West Virginia ranks down at 38th for PCPs, with 3,082; and 38th for specialists, at 2,801. (Our report excludes the District of Columbia, whose concentration is about double the highest state’s.)
How does West Virginia fare against its more populous neighbors?
For PCPs, Maryland is 5th, at 202.71 per 100,000; Pennsylvania is 6th, at 201.35; and Ohio is 12th, at 187.97. Ranking below West Virginia, Virginia is 27th, at 152.28; and Kentucky is a lowly 41st, at 130.07.
Massachusetts (at 229.21), New York, Rhode Island and Connecticut are the top four states for PCPs per capita. Mississippi, Arizona, Texas, Utah, Idaho and Nevada are the bottom six – with Nevada at 104.42.
For specialists, Maryland is 4th, at 238,25; Pennsylvania is 7th, at 213.74; Ohio is 9th, at 202.18; and Virginia is 22nd, just a notch ahead of West Virginia, at 159.33. Kentucky ranks better for specialists than for PCPs, at 28th, 148.88.
Ahead of Maryland, Massachusetts (at 291.51), New York and Connecticut are the top three states. Mississippi, Oklahoma, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada and Idaho are the bottom six, with Idaho at 81.93 specialists per 100,000 residents – nearly half of West Virginia’s figure.
An important factor in West Virginia’s high ranking are the medical schools. WVU School of Medicine in Morgantown provided some numbers and comments.
The medical school said West Virginia has the highest ratio of medical students per 100,000 people in the nation, according to a 2022 report from the Association of American Medical Colleges. “So, the focus shifts from medical school graduates to graduate medical education, because we know that most physicians stay within a 100-mile radius of where they completed their residency.”
Here’s a look at the past three years for medical school graduates: 2022-2023, 106 graduates, with 48 staying in West Virginia for residency; 2023-2024, 96 graduates, with 41 staying in state for residency; 2024-2025, 103 graduates, with 47 staying in state for residency.
For this year’s residency, the school will have 278 incoming residents/fellows, making 648 residents/fellows in total. The school has 96 different training programs, and 72 of those programs are the only ones of their kind in the state.
Norman Ferrari, School of Medicine chief academic officer and vice dean for Medical Education, said, “At West Virginia University, our School of Medicine offers the largest quantity and variety of specialty graduate medical education training opportunities in the state. … Our graduate medical education opportunities are developed by focusing on the largest areas of need within the state.”
The state has two other medical schools. In Lewisburg, the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine reports an annual enrollment of more than 800 students and says 40% of the state’s physicians are WVSOM graduates. Included in its mission is emphasizing primary care in rural areas.
And in May, the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine awarded 68 doctoral degrees and recognized 29 Master of Medical Science graduates. It had 325 students enrolled for the 2024-2025 school year.
Vandalia Health doesn’t have medical schools, but provided some numbers for how many physicians it employs at its hospitals. Vandalia North – Mon Medical Center, Preston Memorial, Stonewall Jackson Memorial – employs 152. Vandalia Health Southern Region employs 449.
Here is a look at the number of physicians for West Virginia’s neighbors.
For PCPs, Pennsylvania is 5th, with 26,334 (8.5 times the number in West Virginia); Ohio is 7th, at 21,109; Virginia is 13th, at 13,418; Maryland is 14th, at 12,696; while Kentucky is much closer, with 5,968.
For specialists, Pennsylvania is again 5th, at 27,954 (nearly 10 times the number for West Virginia); Ohio is 6th, at 24,026; Maryland is 13th, at 14,922; Virginia is 14th, at 14,039; and Kentucky is 26th, at 6,831.
Note that all five of West Virginia’s neighbors have more specialists than PCPs, while West Virginia has 281 more PCPs than specialists.
