Doctors, healthcare providers sound alarm on shortage of physicians across Arizona
Dr. Cheryl O’Malley is on the front line, teaching students at the University of Arizona’s College of Medicine what they need to know to become doctors.
She’s also doing her best to address the physician shortage across the state. “Whether it takes a little longer to get to the appointment you needed, it might be you need to see a specialist that you are not able to get into, or it might be we don’t have that particular specialty,” said O’Malley. “Yes, everyone is noticing it.”
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Arizona is short more than 650 primary care physicians. The lack of doctors makes it difficult for patients across the state to get the health care they need.
COVID-19 and a wave of doctors retiring have made the problem worse. U.S. Congressman Ruben Gallego held a news conference Monday, standing alongside healthcare professionals from across the state.
They all favor a bill being considered in Congress that would address the nationwide shortage of physicians. “The reason we have a severe doctor shortage in Arizona is because we haven’t had enough training slots,” said Gallego. “50% of doctors stay in the state where they did their residency, so in order for us to have future growth, we need them to have more doctors so they stay here.”
The Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act would pave the way for hospitals and medical centers to receive federal reimbursement funding, expanding the number of residency positions they could offer. The hope is that by bringing in more medical students to Arizona, more will stay after they graduate...
Source:
Jason Barry, Arizona's Family