My Sunday story focused on a key question in health care reform -- will there be enough doctors to go around? With plans to extend insurance to some 47 million people, the current primary care doctor shortage will only get worse, many say. One solution could be to increase the role of nurse practitioners. 

The piece generated positive feedback and lots of interesting responses from readers across the spectrum about primary care, nursing and the reform debate. I also heard from a group of providers who felt overlooked: physician assistants.

I hope folks don't see this as an intentional slight, as the story was a narrowly-focused piece looking at one slice of the health care debate. But it is true that using more physician assistants is among the solutions being tossed around to help fill the primary care gaps. And some observers think they could play an important role.

Continue reading "Physician assistants and health care reform" »

Posted by Kelly Brewington at 11:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Health care reform, Physician shortage
        

Recently I trekked out to far western Maryland -- more than 3 hours from here -- to see how Dr. Ken Buczynski practices medicine (see story here). He and I had spoken over the winter for a story I was writing about the state's physician shortage. This 35-year-old doc is the one-stop shop for health care -- delivering babies, treating their moms and dads, their grandparents, even their great-grandparents. He performs epidurals for pregnant women because Garrett County's lone anesthesiologist doesn't have the time -- or inclination -- to do them. He does spinal taps when necessary. He is even trained to do colonoscopies. I had to meet this guy.

He's only been out there for 5 years, but he has 10,000 patients. He'll see them all each year, maybe not in his office, but when he is buying paint at the Lowe's or toilet paper at the Wal-Mart, or when he is in church and they are sitting in the pew across from him and his growing family (three kids under 6 and another due in September). There is no anonymity to this kind of doctoring. Even when he isn't on call, he is on display. He is always recognized as the doctor in the house.

It takes a special kind of person to put down roots like he has in a place so small and needy. ...

Continue reading "My appointment with 'Dr. B' " »

Posted by Stephanie Desmon at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Physician shortage