A recent study that shows Oklahoma may be short by more than 400 doctors by the year 2020 should be of concern to everyone.
A report by American Academy of Family Physicians indicates the state will need 1,896 family physicians to handle patient loads in 2020. Oklahoma currently has 1,463. The report specifies a shortage in family physicians, finding more medical students are shying away from family practice and entering specialized practice.
There are many challenges facing those who choose family practice. The biggest problem, some doctors point out, has to with economics. Family physicians are finding it difficult to stay in practice in rural areas, where many patients have lower economic status. They lose money on Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.
We’ve known it is more difficult to get doctors to move to rural areas, but it appears unless there is a real focus to invest in physicians in these areas, many of our rural residents will lack medical care.
This just isn’t acceptable in the 21st century.
Now is the time for the Legislature and even counties and communities to look at what they will need to do to make sure rural communities have the physicians they need for the future. One of the first and major steps is more meaningful tort reform.
Another thing hospitals and communities can do is to provide incentives to draw physicians to their towns. They can invest in a physicians’ education. They can offer tax incentives, such as tax abatements similar to those offered to new businesses or industries. There probably are a number of creative ways to promote family practice and location in rural areas.
The time to start working toward ensuring medical services in rural areas is now. Oklahoma could and should be a leader in promoting and providing rural health care.
