(Radio Iowa) – Leaders in the Iowa Medical Society say there’s an acute shortage of doctors in Iowa and now is the time to take steps to start attracting younger doctors to complete their training in the state.
Iowa Medical Society board of directors president Christina Taylor says there are about 58-hundred practicing physicians in Iowa today. Dr. Taylor says that is down nearly 200 from last year, and more than 70 counties are considered health care deserts where there aren’t enough providers for patients to be seen. Iowa ranks 44th among the states in the number of physicians per capita. Dr. Taylor says making gains in that ranking won’t be easy because it takes a decade or longer to complete medical training.
Iowa is projected to be short about 16-hundred physicians by 2030 and the Iowa Medical Society hosted a summit earlier this month to discuss the looming workforce shortage.
