The national physician shortage has hit Louisiana particularly hard, with more than 90 percent of the state falling under the federal designation Health Professional Shortage Area, according to a Business Report report.
The HPSA designation measures the number of physicians in family practice, general practice, internal medicine, pediatrics and OB/GYN against the population. The problem is exacerbated by the high percentage of rural communities in Louisiana — around 30 percent of the state’s population lives in rural areas, but only 10 percent of primary care physicians practice there.
The primary care physician shortage is also evident in Connecticut, where one in four physicians is refusing to take on new patients and for those accepting new patients, there is an 18-day wait for a routine office visit, according to an American Medical News report.
Other states are also struggling in this area. In late 2009, 41 percent of physicians in Oklahoma were 55 years of age or older, meaning the population of physicians will significantly decrease in the next 15 years because of retirement, according to a report by The Journal Record. New figures from the University of Hawaii showed the state is short by 644 physicians compared to what it should have if it were meeting national averages, according to a Hawaii Reporter report.
States are attempting to combat the problem by incenting physicians to practice in rural areas and trying to boost medical school admissions, but experts say these measures may not be enough.
Read more on physician shortages:
–Lower Salaries, Decreasing Interest May Lead to Primary Care Physician Shortage
