Wisconsin is expected to have a shortfall of over 2,000 physicians by 2030, according to a report released Tuesday.
The Wisconsin Hospital Association released the report, which is based on the state’s projected population growth and changing demographics over the next 20 years.
The association said 100 physicians will have to join the Wisconsin workforce every year or residents will not have adequate preventative health care, and the “state’s economy will be as much as $5 billion smaller than it could be.”
“If the issues outlined in this paper are not acted upon, access to needed health care services will become unavailable, with a harmful impact on Wisconsin citizens,” the report stated.
The Medical College of Wisconsin and the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health released a joint statement Wednesday agreeing with the WHA’s findings.
They emphasized the need to address that shortfall by increasing the number of residency training positions offered to in-state residents in Wisconsin medical schools.
“The WHA report echoes other studies that have shown that where a physician does his or her residency training is the key factor in determining where they practice medicine in the future,” the joint statement said.
According to Lisa Brunette, spokesperson for the School of Medicine and Public Health, the school is already taking measures to confront the deficit.
She cited the success of the Wisconsin Academy of Rural Medicine, a program designed for medical students interested in primary care in rural Wisconsin.
“[The] program expanded to accept an additional 25 students this year,” she said. “[Participants] are already accepting a career track that will keep them in Wisconsin, where they are needed.”
Burnet said in light of statewide budget cuts, there is uncertainty as to whether funding for programs encouraging physicians to stay in Wisconsin will increase.
