OSTEOPATHIC PHYSICIANS FOCUSED ON SOLVING FAMILY PHYSICIAN SHORTAGE

Doctors Kelli Ward & Jan Zieren work on solving challenge Universal coverage and multiple initiatives to improve health care delivery currently do not address the primary care workforce crisis

PHOENIX— Resolving America’s primary care physician shortage will require multiple solutions that boost programs to help medical students repay their education debt, narrow the payment gap between primary care physicians and subspecialists, change medical school admissions procedures and ensure the survival of primary care training programs. Universal coverage and multiple initiatives to improve health care delivery are crucial components of health care reform. However, addressing the primary care workforce crisis for the underserved is the missing link. According to Osteopathic Physicians Jan Zieren, D.O. and Kelli Ward, D.O., this vital issue can be resolved by creating primary care teaching health centers in an established patient-centered medical home practice environment. Residents would receive their final year of training in these centers, and then have the incentive of National Health Service Corps debt repayment if they subsequently practice in an underserved area. Doctors Ward and Zieren, members of the Arizona Osteopathic Medical Association (AOMA), have collaborated on possible solutions to this challenge and are available for interviews. For additional media information, to set interviews, etc., please contact Carole V. Bartholomeaux, Publicist, 602 404 8018 or Carole@b-pr.com.

“With the first of the baby boomers turning 65 this year the need for primary care physicians will continue to grow the next 18 years. That is why it is so vital to rebuild the ‘infrastructure’ of primary care health providers now,” Dr. Zieren stated. “At least 65 million people in the United States today reside in areas with a shortage of primary care health professionals.”

“A progressively decreasing number of doctors provide primary care for uninsured patients, as well as those on Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Plan,” Dr. Ward added. “This has further exacerbated limited access and often leads to more frequent, less effective, and more expensive care in emergency rooms.”

Solutions discussed by Doctors Ward and Zieren could:

• Create more opportunities for students and young physicians to trade debt for service, through effective programs such as the National Health Service Corps.
• Reduce or resolve disparities in physician income.
• Admit a greater proportion of students to medical school who are more likely to choose primary care, rural practice, and care of the underserved.
• Study the degree to which educational debt prevents middle class and poor students from applying to medical school and potential policies to reduce such barriers.
• Substantially shift training of medical students and residents to community, rural and underserved settings.
• Support primary care departments and residency programs and their roles in teaching and mentoring trainees.

A Fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP), Kelli M. Ward, DO, MPH, FACOFP is a board-certified family physician. She serves as the Director of Medical Education at Kingman Regional Medical Center in Kingman, AZ, while maintaining a private practice in Lake Havasu City, AZ. She is a faculty member of Midwestern University/Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine in Glendale and AT Still-SOMA in Mesa. Honored for her work, Dr. Ward was named Young Family Physician of the Year in 2008 by the ACOFP and Physician of the Year in 2007 by the AOMA. She currently serves as president of the AZ Osteopathic Association and as a member of the AZ Regulatory Board of Physicians Assistants.

Jan D. Zieren, DO, MPH, FACOFP was elected president of the ACOFP for 2009-2010 beginning with the March 2009 ACOFP Annual Convention & Exhibition in Washington, DC. Dr. Zieren, a board certified family practitioner who was designated a Fellow of ACOFP in 1993, has extensive experience in medical leadership, regulation and policy development. Her accomplishments can be summed up in two words – committed leadership. President-elect of the AOMA Board, Dr. Zieren is a former member of the Arizona Board of Osteopathic Examiners, the state agency that regulates osteopathic physicians.

Doctors Ward and Zieren will continue to keep the public updated on this crisis through a series of news releases and white papers.

For additional media information, to set interviews, etc., please contact Carole V. Bartholomeaux, 602 404 8018 or Carole@b-pr.com