Preventive medicine is the science of promoting health and wellness, and preventing disease. A preventive medicine physician works to protect and maintain health, and to prevent disease, disability and premature death. This physician commonly specializes in one of three areas: public health, occupational medicine, or aerospace medicine. This specialist works with large population groups (in public health medicine) as well as with individual patients to promote health and understand the risks of disease, injury, disability and death.

Doctor density varies by specialty and location. The United States has 155 practicing preventive medicine doctors. Broken out by state, preventive medicine doctor density in Alabama is 6, in Alaska is 6, in Arizona is 8, in California is 41, in Colorado is 2, in Connecticut is 3, in District of Columbia is 5, in Florida is 10, in Georgia is 9, in Hawaii is 6, in Idaho is 1, in Illinois is 3, in Indiana is 7, in Iowa is 3, in Kansas is 3, in Kentucky is 4, in Louisiana is 6, in Maine is 2, in Maryland is 14, in Massachusetts is 14, in Michigan is 7, in Minnesota is 5, in Mississippi is 4, in Missouri is 4, in Montana is 1, in Nevada is 2, in New Hampshire is 3, in New Jersey is 10, in New Mexico is 3, in New York is 15, in North Carolina is 13, in Ohio is 8, in Oklahoma is 2, in Oregon is 7, in Pennsylvania is 8, in Rhode Island is 1, in South Carolina is 7, in Tennessee is 8, in Texas is 17, in Utah is 1, in Virginia is 9, in Washington is 7, in West Virginia is 1, and in Wisconsin is 5.