July 21, 2008

ATLANTA (AP) -- With fewer medical school students choosing residencies in family medicine, Georgia is facing a shortage of family doctors.

Of the 385 students who graduated from medical schools in Georgia this spring, only 20 chose residencies in family medicine, half as many as five years ago.

Health officials say that's serious because family doctors are often primary health care providers in their communities.

More than a third of the state's counties, many of them rural, are officially designated as having a shortage of primary care professionals.

A recent study said an aging population and fewer doctors training in primary care could lead to a nationwide shortage of primary care doctors by 2025.

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