In the News

Nurse Practitioners Slowly Gain Autonomy - According to The Pew Charitable Trusts on July 19, 2013 some states are trying to fill the primary care physician shortage with nurses who have advanced degrees in family medicine. Advocates for patients, hospitals and insurers agree that allowing nurse practitioners (NPs) to fill in for doctors makes sense when it comes to basic services. But physician groups vigorously oppose the changes, arguing that nurses lack the training to safely diagnose, treat, refer to specialists, admit to hospitals and prescribe medications for patients, without a doctor’s oversight.But for the nursing profession, the gold standard is full independence. That is the only way, advocates argue, that NPs will be able to make a dent in patients’ access to care. TO READ MORE CLICK HERE




Is GME Snubbing Rural America - According to Media Health Leaders on June 19, 2013-The U.S. Census for 2010 says that one in five people —19.3% of the population, about 59.4 million people—live in rural America. Unfortunately, a new report this month from George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services says that only 4.8% of new physicians plan to establish a practice in rural areas, despite the critical need. It's a topic that's been predicted and discussed for decades. We know what the problem is but we can't fix it.TO READ MORE CLICK HERE



Shortage of primary care doctors forces groups to adapt - According to News telegram.com on July 25, 2013-Since the state passed a health reform law in 2006 mandating health insurance coverage, demand for internal medicine and family practice physicians to manage office-based patient care has soared. Not only has the Reliant medical group hired seven more advanced-practice clinicians, such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, who provide primary care under a physician's supervision, but it also employs nurses and medical assistants in innovative ways. Medical assistants work with Reliant's database to contact high-risk patients with chronic diseases, including depression, who may be overdue for an appointment or need a check-in on medication.TO READ MORE. CLICK HERE

In the News

Study Predicts 5.6 Million New Health Care Jobs by 2020, with Demand Highest for Nurses - According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on June 27,2013 the United States health care workforce will have to expand by almost 30 percent between 2010 and 2020 to meet growing demand for care. Nursing will grow the fastest among healthcare occupations. The estimated 5.6 million health care job vacancies created over the next ten years is expected to be the most dramatic growth in any job sector in the country during that time period.TO READ MORE CLICK HERE




How Can We Expand the Primary Care Workforce? - According to the Robert Wood Johnson Founduation on January 1, 2012 - Primary care is vital to disease prevention yet the United States has a deficit of nearly 40,000 primary care physicians. Because of this shortage, many people have little access to primary care and increasingly are turning to hospital emergency rooms for care—or going without. How Can We Expand the Primary Care Workforce?TO READ MORE CLICK HERE



Doctors working in fast-food restaurants - According to CNN Health on July 4, 2013 in Southern California alone, there are an estimated 3,000 medically trained Latino immigrant doctors who aren't practicing medicine. Instead of treating patients many doctors spend years cleaning houses or working on construction sites and in fast-food chain restaurants. Latino immigrant doctors have a harder time transitioning into the U.S. health system. The IMG program has helped 66 Latino immigrant doctors pass the board exams and get placed into residency programs.TO READ MORE CLICK HERE

In the News

Top U.S. States Where Doctors Go Digital - According to a Bloomberg.com article on June 25th, 2013: What's your family's health history? Imagine not having to recount any of that. That's one benefit of electronic medical records. Depending where you live in the U.S., your medical records may still be stuck in the 20th century. In 2012, 29.7 percent of South Carolina's office-based doctors used basic electronic medical records. That's lower than the national average of 39.6 percent. TO READ MORE CLICK HERE



Southern states have too few dentists for residents, Pew study finds - According to the Post and Courier on June 28th, 2013: Several Southern states have some of the most severe dentist shortages in the country. Tony Keck, director of South Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services, said South Carolina’s Medicaid program doesn’t face the same financial problems plaguing Louisiana. Mississippi ranked at the top of the list with 36.3 percent of its population underserved by dentists, and Louisiana and Alabama tied for second at 24.4 percent. TO READ MORE CLICK HERE



Perspective: Envy-A Strategy for Reform - According to a perspective written by Drs. Nick Seddon and Thomas Lee in The New England Journal of Medicine on June 13, 2013, they believe that envy has an appropriate place in health policy, if in this case it means health systems struggling to address specific weaknesses by identifying strengths in other systems that they could emulate. For starters, the United States should envy the United Kingdom's commitment to universal access to health care, not because it suggests moral superiority but because it confers a strategic advantage. Character traits may be hard to change, but the English could do with a bit of American optimism, whereas the Americans would benefit from a bit of English stoicism.TO READ MORE CLICK HERE