Access to health care in a southern rural community.

This case study of utilization of health care services in a rural southern community is the first of a series of reports dealing with access to care in this community. The most striking findings were the low utilization of physician and dental services compared with national standards (particularly by the black population) and the infrequent use of private physicians by blacks. Possible explanations for these findings are the short time interval since integration of services after Medicare and Medicaid legislation, the short supply of primary care physicians, especially black, in this community, and the reluctance of white physicians to accept Medicaid patients. We postulate that while employment and social mobility have improved greatly for blacks, established methods of medical and dental practice have changed slowly.