Substitute Resolution 39-P AM '03 Projecting Statewide Specialty Shortage Areas and Developing an Office for Physician
Recruitment
RESOLVED, that the Colorado Medical Society, coordinating with component societies statewide and with appropriate Colorado State Government agencies, seek to develop an office to assist in physician recruitment which would be responsible for the distribution of information regarding community needs, practice opportunities, licensure, MCO penetration and membership, hospital credentialing, available housing, education opportunities, liability insurance and other factors which would be of interest to inquiring physicians.
RESOLVED, that the Colorado Medical Society work with component societies statewide to define statewide projected specialty shortages, to track physicians leaving Colorado, to project future needs and to collaborate with the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and others, to determine methods to encourage students to explore these specialty areas for their post graduate training.
The council recognizes both the paucity of coordinated physician recruitment efforts and the fact that Colorado has traditionally enjoyed the benefits of lifestyle, geography and favorable malpractice tort reform in the recruitment of new physicians to the state. Staff contacted Governor Owens' administration and a council member also talked to the director of the Department of Local Affairs in an attempt to develop an office of physician recruitment. Colorado officials were consistently disinterested in the idea, especially in light of the fact that such an office would require resources that are currently unavailable because of the state's ongoing fiscal crunch. Pending an influx of new resources, HAC will not pursue this issue further.
The council has made progress in projecting statewide specialty shortages. While HAC cited a myriad of concerns including the ability to track not only the number of physicians leaving the state, but also why they are leaving, members did agree that gathering even rudimentary point in time data about physician capacity would be very useful. Efforts are currently underway to collaborate with the Colorado Health Institute (CHI) and Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) to conduct a physician manpower survey next spring. The survey will correspond with the mailing of the 2005 re-licensure letter sent by the BME. For many years AHEC has conducted similar surveys with the BME. HAC is currently reviewing survey content and CHI is slated to conduct the analysis. Final results will be available next year. These data should prove to be useful in many policymaking and recruitment efforts in the future.