PROFESSIONCalif. laws to address physician shortagesOne regulation aims to increase the quality of work force data; another is directed at connecting volunteer physicians to patients in need of care.By Jay Greene, amednews staff. Dec. 3, 2001. To help determine if there is a physician shortage in California, the Medical Board of California will be required, starting in January 2002, to gather more practice information from physicians who apply for licenses or seek renewals. The medical board now will ask physicians to list their specialty, whether they actively practice medicine, and the amount of time spent in patient care, research, teaching, administration or other activities. The medical board currently asks only for names and addresses.
Under the new law sponsored by the California Medical Assn., the medical board will collect the information when a doctor applies for a license and every two years at license renewal. The board also will gather information on languages physicians speak, whether they work full-time, part-time or are retired, and where they practice. Earlier this year, a CMA survey found substantial problems statewide with physician data collection and recruiting. After more than half of the 2,300 physicians surveyed said they planned to quit, leave the state or reduce patient care hours within the next three years, the CMA forecast a growing physician supply problem. In addition, most physicians surveyed also said they had trouble recruiting physicians, citing low reimbursement and high cost of living in many areas of the state. But not all experts in the state agreed with CMA's forecast. A study released in April by the University of California at San Francisco showed that the state had a 7% increase in physicians from 1994 to 2000. It was this report that, according to CMA officials, prompted them to seek a bill authorizing the state to collect better data. Meanwhile, another law in effect in January 2002 will help connect volunteer physicians with people who don't have doctors. A registry will be operated by the CMA and the state Office of Statewide Health Planning to solicit physicians, raise money and maintain a list of volunteers and donors. "Access to care and underfunding of health care is at crisis levels in this state," said Frank Staggers, MD, president of the CMA, in a statement. "Patients are traveling many miles to find specialists or are going without necessary care for months and even years." Copyright 2001 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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