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April 1, 2008Want Doctors to Treat the Underserved? Make Sure They Train at Community Health Centers |
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From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: University of Washington researchers have found that community health center-trained family physicians were more likely to work in underserved settings than their non-community health center-trained counterparts (64 percent versus 37 percent), based on a study published in the April issue of Family Medicine. The news comes on the heels of last month's announcement from the National Resident Matching Program that there is an increased interest in family medicine and more residency positions in that field available across the United States. Scant research has been conducted in the family medicine residency-community health center (CHC) realm, despite an affiliation that dates back more than 25 years. CHCs are federally funded primary care clinics that provide care for underinsured and uninsured patients. Dr. Carl Morris, assistant professor in the University of Washington's Department of Family Medicine, and the study's lead author, said he was not surprised by the findings. "As a resident, I was inspired by the role models I trained with, and my training helped me better understand the service mission of community health centers." With a continued increase in the numbers of uninsured, the recent economic downturn and the anticipated doubling in numbers of physicians needed in CHCs, the UW study results suggest one strategy to bring more health providers to underserved areas is by ensuring there are residency programs based in those centers. Because there are no national data to identify either the number of family medicine residencies affiliated with CHCs or the number of residents training with them, more research is needed to better understand the relationship, researchers cautioned.
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