How to increase the supply of primary care services in underserved areas ? The impact of the location of multidisciplinary primary care teams on the density of physiotherapist in France

France faces both a huge shortage of General Practitioners (GPs) and a geographical imbalance in the distribution of primary healthcare professionals. This study analyses whether establishing Multidisciplinary Primary Care Teams (MPCTs) in areas with limited access to primary care increases the density of physiotherapists (PTs) by attracting and retaining PTs. Our contribution expands the literature on the determinants of primary health care providers' geographical distribution. Utilising a panel data from 2012 to 2022 with a staggered difference-in-differences (DiD) estimation strategy, we compare the evolution of self-employed PTs density in HLAs that experienced the opening of MPCTs to similar areas without MPCTs. The findings indicate that the establishment of MPCTs in the most underserved HLAs, eligible to financial incentives targeting the attraction and retention of PTs, results in an increase in PTs density by more than five PTs per 100,000 inhabitants. This finding suggests that, in primary care, the promotion of multidisciplinary team practices like French MPCTs, in combination with financial incentives to attract and retain health professionals, improves healthcare workers density in areas with limited access to primary care services.