Historical perspective on how some sites and means of professional caregiving became high or low status helps us understand trends in poor care continuity in US health care.
AMA J Ethics. 2022;24(9):E822-829. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2022.822.
Particularly in a small community, patients may want to avoid the social stigma of seeking mental health care by receiving it from their primary care physician—who may know them well enough to have some insights an unfamiliar specialist would not.
Physicians who choose rural practice are called upon to deliver care that they have limited experience with, most notably in emergency situations when they are the most skilled people around.