Pennsylvania Lawmaker Seeks to Preserve Primary Care
By Christine Whitmarsh, RN, BSN A March survey by the American Hospital Association listed Pennsylvania as one of 18 states (“crisis states”) that are experiencing varying levels of legal and legislative challenges. The associated liability issues are making it difficult for many hospitals within those states to successfully recruit physicians. Even before the survey results were released, Pennsylvania saw significant...
Physician Shortage: Underserved Populations
By Christine Whitmarsh, RN, BSN Minority, rural, inner city, the uninsured and other underserved patient populations already have more limited access to locum physicians than many other patient demographics. The predicted rise in demand for new physicians in the coming years may further compromise access to medical care for these patients. Community clinics in California, for example, are already encountering challenges finding...
Spotlight on Greatest Physician Needs: Michigan
By Christine Whitmarsh, RN, BSN Every state in the nation could no doubt benefit from additional physicians to fill vacant job positions in a wide range of clinical settings from clinics to hospitals. As discussed in previous blogs, the greatest mounting needs for physicians are in rural and inner city areas. Since each state is a blend of rural, urban and suburban areas, physicians considering their geographic options amongst Locum...
Traveling MDs, NPs, PAs, Can Help with Maldistribution of Providers
By Christine Whitmarsh, RN, BSN The shortage of new and prospective physicians is not the only issue concerning health care industry administrators and lawmakers. Solutions are also being developed to ensure that our nation’s supply of physicians and other primary care providers is not concentrated all in the same locations. While those locations may vary, the places with the sparsest distribution of physicians continue to be...
Old versus New MD Work Attitudes
By Christine Whitmarsh, RN, BSN My friend’s father is a top physician and surgeon in California and he has battled and conquered tremendous odds in his life to earn this status. Like many other physicians and surgeons, starting as a medical student he worked as many hours as it took to learn his craft, get his work done and achieve his goals. While recently interviewing physician candidates to join his practice, he quickly...