Physician recruiters are familiar with the physician shortage. Access to care sets the baseline for all healthcare, and the impact of the shortage is affecting historically marginalized and under-resourced populations disproportionately. Patients living in rural areas, for example, are more likely to struggle to access their clinician than a patient living in an urban or suburban area, per Patient Engagement. A September 2021 report from the Kaiser Family Foundation noted that 83.7 million people in the U.S. live in a designated primary-care health professional shortage area (HPSA).