quote:
Wouldn't this eventually push PAs and NPs out of traditional family medicine much the way they are currently chasing MDs and DOs into more specialized practices?

Nah. They can specialize in the same way a phsyician can. My wife is a fellowship trained hepatology PA. She would have no business seeing you in a primary care setting, but she can get you a new liver. Honestly, I believe prgrams are actively encouraging mid levels into primary care fields b/c they know the situation at hand, and it's really eazy to find opportunities in primary care for mid levels right now.

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So basically nothing

Correct

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My wife is starting med school next year (and seems to be interested in pediatrics),

Pediatricians are pediatricians b/c they love treating kids. There is very little money to be had (relative to hours worked) simply as a Pedi. She would need to further specialize (i.e. Pedi-onc, Pedi-ortho, etc...) to make good money.

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and I'm trying to develop an opinion on the challenges PCPs face in today's medical field and I'm trying to understand what impact Obamacare would have on the PCP shortage (particularly in rural areas).

As people are charged more and more for insurance, they are eventually going to get tired of that and just pay the doc directly to keep him on retainer. Without change, that is the direction we are headed. Boutique/Concierge practices for the "wealthy", and long lines for access to mid levels or foreign graduates for people with insurance.

Foreign medical graduates already make up a staggering percentage of rural physicians. I'll see if I can find the data.

ETA: 19.3% of rural physicians are foreign medical graduates. LINK

This post was edited on 11/17/14 at 10:39 am

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Posted by dewster

Chicago

Member since Aug 2006

25446 posts

Posted on 11/17/14 at 10:46 am to MSMHater

quote:
Nah. They can specialize in the same way a phsyician can. My wife is a fellowship trained hepatology PA. She would have no business seeing you in a primary care setting, but she can get you a new liver. Honestly, I believe prgrams are actively encouraging mid levels into primary care fields b/c they know the situation at hand, and it's really eazy to find opportunities in primary care for mid levels right now.

What do you mean by "mid levels"?

quote:
19.3% of rural physicians are foreign medical graduates

Thanks for the link. I see where it says that allopathic physicians specializing in internal medicine and osteophatic physicians make up 19.3%....but I'm trying to find the stat for foreign medical graduates. Please forgive me for not understanding clearly....but by foreign medical graduates, I'm assuming you mean from medical schools outside of the US?

I'm not kidding when I say that my parents are, at any given time, a week away from seeing their PCP, who can't be more than a few years away from retirement. They hardly ever go to the doctor, which is kind of shocking for their age.

I know Louisiana, Indiana, Oregon, and Tennessee all have reimbursement programs for physicians that practice in rural, under served areas. It doesn't seem to be working very well from my perspective.

This post was edited on 11/17/14 at 10:49 am

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Posted by onmymedicalgrind

Nunya

Member since Dec 2012

10591 posts

Posted on 11/17/14 at 10:47 am to MSMHater

quote:
Foreign medical graduates already make up a staggering percentage of rural physicians. I'll see if I can find the data.

And as we continue with this PCP shortage, expect this to increase. There are only so many ACGME accredited med schools in the US, the demand could never be met. Plus, its much easier for foreign grads to match into primary care US residencies from a competitiveness standpoint then compared to the other specialized fields.

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