Health News
More needs to be done to address the shortage of primary-care physicians, a big problem in rural areas and much of Kentucky, according to a panel of physicians at "Rural Health Journalism 2014," Kris Hickman writes for the Association of Health Care Journalists, which sponsored the conference.
Bazemore said the medical community needs to draw more attention to the need for more primary care physicians in rural areas. He also said that for every dollar spent on health care, only six or seven cents are spent on primary care. "States facing a shortage should remember that primary care is the logical basis of any health care system," Bazemore said.
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Health News
Panel of physicians at national conference discuss future of rural primary care, how to solve doctor shortages
Almost half of rural U.S. counties, 44 percent, struggle with primary care physician shortages, said Andrew Bazemore, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Family Medicine and Primary Care of the American Academy of Family Physicians. According to a presentation at the 2013 Kentucky Rural Medical Educators Conference, Kentucky had a 1,287:1 primary care physician to citizen ratio, which is 557 short of the national average.
The national shortage is expected to worsen soon because almost 27 percent of those providers are older than 60, said Mark A. Richardson, M.D., dean of Oregon Health and Science's School of Medicine.
The national shortage is expected to worsen soon because almost 27 percent of those providers are older than 60, said Mark A. Richardson, M.D., dean of Oregon Health and Science's School of Medicine.
Bazemore said the medical community needs to draw more attention to the need for more primary care physicians in rural areas. He also said that for every dollar spent on health care, only six or seven cents are spent on primary care. "States facing a shortage should remember that primary care is the logical basis of any health care system," Bazemore said.
Richardson recommended that medical schools try to recruit students who have rural backgrounds because they're more likely to return to practice in rural areas. He and Bazemore agree that students who practice in rural areas should be given loan forgiveness or scholarships. "Debt prevents many people from choosing primary care," Bazemore said.
Richardson said the most important factor for where medical students end up practicing is where they completed their training. "Rural training is one of the highest predictors of a rural practice and should be required," he said. To do this, the government-imposed cap on graduate medical education spending would have to be abolished.
"Medical care is not a free market dynamic," Richardson said. "We pay for health care transactions, rather than health." (Read more)
- Doctors Of Osteopathy Are An Increasing Answer To The Doctor Shortage, As More Osteopathic Medical Schools Open
Doctors of osteopathy could be part of the solution to Kentucky's well-documented primary care doctor shortage, Laurel Black reports for The Paducah Sun. "The American Association of Medical Colleges predicts that a growing population of aging...
- Family Physicians Group Objects To Cuts To Primary-care Physician Training Programs; Cites Doctor Shortage, Which Is Worse In Ky.
Facing an already-existing shortage of primary care in the country and state, the American Academy of Family Physicians sent a letter to U.S. Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, saying the committee's 2014...
- U Of L's Trover Medical Campus Ranked Among Best For Rural Medicine Education And Addresing Rural Physician Shortage
The University of Louisville School of Medicine Trover Rural Campus in Madisonville was rated third best in the nation for preparing medical students to practice in rural areas, which is critical to the state since most of Kentucky's rural counties...
- Rural Training Track Programs Get More Health Professionals To Rural Areas, But Live 'on The Edge' Of Funding And Personnel
By Tara Kaprowy Kentucky Health News With the Obama administration offering more funding to improve rural health care, Rural Training Track programs to steer medical students to rural areas are hoping to expand, a move that would benefit underserved areas...
- Will Illinois Have Enough Family Physicians Beyond 2014?
Do we have enough physicians to care for newly insured patients seeking care starting Jan. 1? Some will be covered by Medicaid; some gain coverage through the insurance marketplace; and others turning 65 join the ranks of Medicare. The Illinois Academy...