New Center Takes On Doctor Shortage

WASHINGTON, May 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The New Center – an organization focused on creating the space for a political center in America – today released a new policy paper entitled, "Closing the Doctor Gap." With the Association of American Medical Colleges predicting a shortage of up to 122,000 physicians by 2030, the New Center paper suggests several proposals – implementable at the federal and local levels and in the private sector – to solve the problem. 

For the sake of both patients and physicians, The New Center proposes a targeted, multi-pronged approach that includes:

1.    Encouraging the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) to remove red tape for competent foreign doctors.

Foreign doctors make up one fourth of the general U.S. physician workforce, and between 2000 and 2013, made up more than 33% of doctors entering the field of family medicine, where shortages are especially acute.

2.    Encouraging the American Medical Association (AMA) to reform the inefficiencies of medical school curricula.

A 2012 study published in JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association found that the length of medical training could be shortened by up to 30% without reducing the quality of the physician.

3.    Encouraging states to expand the scope of practice of nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and certified nurse midwives.

Nurse practitioners lack full practice rights in 28 U.S. states despite research showing equal levels of both patient satisfaction and health outcomes between patients who saw physicians and patients who saw independent nurse practitioners.

4.    Funding the construction of new medical schools and the expansion of old ones.

While federal funding of U.S. medical schools had amounted to 50% of medical schools' revenues in 1965, it made up less than 19% by 2016.

5.    Building infrastructure to clear the way for telemedicine.

In 2014, only 19 states had passed legislation to guarantee telemedicine reimbursement from third-party payers.

The full "Closing the Doctor Gap" paper is available for download at www.newcenter.org along with several other recent policy proposals.

About The New Center

American politics is broken, with the far left and far right making it increasingly impossible to govern. This will not change until a viable center emerges with an assertive agenda that appeals to the vast majority of the American people.

This is the mission of The New Center, which aims to establish the intellectual basis for a viable political center in today's America.

We create and promote ideas, news coverage, and commentary that helps Americans see common-sense solutions to the problems we face.

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SOURCE The New Center

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