• E-mail
• Print
• RSS

Lack of foreign doctors contributing to physician shortage

Case Management Weekly, August 1, 2007

Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Case Management Weekly!

A nationwide physician shortage affecting rural and inner-city residents the most is being exacerbated by restrictions put in place on foreign doctors who want to practice in the U.S. after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

According to statistics from the federal government, more than 35 million people live in underserved areas, and it would require 16,000 physicians to immediately alleviate the shortage of doctors in those areas. The gap is expected to widen dramatically over the next several years, reaching 24,000 in 2020.

To help relieve the shortage in some areas of the U.S., the federal government began issuing J-1 visa waivers through a number of state and federal work programs, which allow foreign physicians to work in rural areas for three to five years and could allow them to seek permanent residency.

Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer

Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Case Management Weekly!

• E-mail to a Colleague
• Print
• RSS
• Archive