Does the border matter for health care? A study of medical services provider’s location at cities in the Mexican side of the border

Abstract

This work examines medical services providers’ spatial location patterns at the Mexican cities in the us Mexico border as a case study. Formal statistical methods are applied using data sources for each side of the border with the primary source being the National Statistic Directory of Economic Units (denue) published by the Mexican Census Bureau. Results identify the following specific medical services activities with particular relative concentrations at the border city scale: private dental offices (naics code 621211) ci= 1.32, general medicine private offices (naics code 621111) ci = 1.16, private medical diagnostics labs (naics code 621511) ci = 1.02, and private general hospitals (naics code 621398) ci = 1.03. In addition a cluster pattern around border Crossings was found for the largest city included in the study. Results suggest that trans-border health care needs in the region represent a binational integration mechanism with social opportunities for the local populations.