An area with an inadequate supply of physicians, usually defined as an area having a physician to population ratio less than some standard, such as 1 to 4,000.
A medically underserved area which is particularly short of physicians. The term is defined in the Public Health Service Act and used to determine which areas have priority for assistance.
A geographic region with an inadequate supply of physicians, usually one where more than 400 people live for each physician in residence.