Access to basic health care is inadequate in many parts of the U.S. Follow the link to explore this interactive map story from ESRI for two ways of examining the fundamental public health challenge.

To the left of the slider bar: a look at doctor’s offices relative to population. To the right: primary health providers.The availability of basic health care varies radically from place to place across the nation.

To the left of the vertical slider bar, counties outlined in orange had no doctor’s office in 2009, according to the Census Bureau. Clark County, Mississippi, for example, had a population of over 17,000 but no doctor’s office, while Manhattan had a doctor’s office for every 500 residents.

The map to the right shows the relative availability of primary health care providers by county. Enhanced access to health care is key to improving the health of Americans.

Doctor’s office data is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns and Population Estimates programs.

Primary care provider data is from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ leading health indicators.

Access to basic health care is inadequate in many parts of the U.S.These county maps present two ways of examining a fundamental public health challenge. To the left of the slider bar: a look at doctor’s offices relative to population. To the right: primary health providers.