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Michigan Academy of Family Physicians warns about shortage of primary care doctors

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Posted at 4:18 PM, Mar 20, 2023
and last updated 2023-03-20 16:53:30-04

(WXMI) — The Michigan Academy of Family Physicians is raising awareness about the shortage of primary care doctors, which is a growing problem.

According to the group, only 24 percent of new doctors in Michigan enter primary care specialties. It’s estimated that there are only 862 primary care physicians in the state, which the Michigan Academy of Family Physicians warns isn’t high enough.

“Family docs are, we are right down there with the pediatricians as the lowest reimburse specialty in America,” said Glenn Dregansky, DO, FAAFP; president of the Michigan Academy of Family Physicians. “Because of that, you know, I have students that, that I would rotate in our department, and I’d say ‘Yeah, you really sharp, you should think about family medicine,’ and third year medical student look, and he says ‘You guys work way too hard. You don’t get paid diddly.’”

“A robust Family Medicine workforce is critical to providing high quality accessible care for everybody in Michigan,” said Jean Wong, MD; assistant professor and program director at the University of Michigan Family Medicine Residency. “But in the last decade, the gap in the number of primary care doctors in under-served areas of our state increased by five percent. Part of the problem is that traditionally, Michigan loses more than half of our resident trainees to other states. And while we do gain some physicians from other states, it’s at a lower rate.”

The Michigan Academy of Family Physicians says that one way to address the shortage is to look at initiatives that are already working. One of them is MIDocs, a residency program that is focused on rural areas. The program offers up to $75,000 in student loan repayment.

The group says that expanding funding to these types of programs will help with both recruiting and retaining physicians.

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