More primary care physicians are retiring in rural
America just as the need for care is expanding and fewer medical-school
graduates are going into primary care. A federally funded study shows remote
counties are likely to feel the impact the worst. Primary care is the
foundation of the rural health care workforce. However, a substantial
percentage of primary care providers (PCPs) in the United States are
approaching retirement age at the same time that fewer new U.S. medical
graduates (USMGs) are opting for primary care specialties. Shortages related to
retirement will coincide with accelerating demand for health care as the number
of Americans aged 65 and older doubles between 2000 and 2030 and additional
millions receive health insurance coverage through provisions in the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). Click
here to read the full article by Meredith Fordyce, Doescher and Skillman.
