PRIORITY ASSIGNMENT OF RELIEF PHYSICIANS

(a) The department shall assign physicians to provide relief to a rural area in accordance with the following priorities: (1) solo practitioners; (2) counties that have fewer than seven residents per square mile; (3) counties that have been designated under federal law as a health professional shortage area; (4) counties that do not have a hospital; and (5) counties that have a hospital but do not have a continuously staffed hospital emergency room. (b) In determining where to assign relief physicians, the department shall consider the number of physicians in the area available to provide relief services and the distance in that area to the nearest physician who practices in the same specialty. (c) At the request of the department, residency program directors may assist the department in coordinating the assignment of relief physicians.