News: Rural Doctors Needed

During the holiday season, it's almost instinctive to turn our attention to the less fortunate in our midst. A recent study released by the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy reports that nearly 1 million kids live in areas with no local children's doctor. Is there a shortage of doctors in America?

Medical schools are graduating more doctors every year, but these doctors are going to places which already are over supplied with doctors. A few states, like our Washington, had a very even proportion of doctors to children, but in nearby Idaho, there are more than 3,000 children per family doctor in some areas.

See the map below.

According to the report, "The number of pediatricians has been on the rise, increasing by 51 percent from 1996 to 2006. The supply of family doctors grew by 35 percent in the same years. The population of children grew by only 9 percent during those years."

Supporting doctors in rural communities isn't as easy as giving to the Salvation Army or donating a Christmas gift to Toys for Tots. You have to do some research. Some communities sponsor students medical school, with the intention of the student returning to the community. There are a few government programs which make rural medicine attractive to medical students, but these are greatly lacking in funding. You could consider make a donation of medical equipment and supplies for pediatricians.

The lack of doctors in rural areas isn't a problem that can be solved overnight. But because doctors, medical schools, and communities now recognize the problem; they are one step closer to solving it.

From all of us at QuickMedical, have a very Merry Christmas and a safe weekend. See you Monday!