news & events

2005 Archives
2004 Archives

Please check back soon to get more information on other notable information and events.

Presentation to the House Select Subcommittee on the Health Workforce on physician supply
On December 15th, Dr. Tom Ricketts gave a presentation on physician supply to the North Carolina House Select Subcommittee on the Health Workforce. With the exception of primary care physicians, the supply of physicians throughout the United States, including in North Carolina, is growing slower than population growth, and national and state estimates project an emerging shortage of doctors. Demographic characteristics, turnover rates, and uneven geographic distribution were also highlighted. Click here for the Powerpoint presentation. (12/20/05)

Completed Southeast Regional Center Projects
We have added a new page to describe our completed projects and to post final project materials. Click here for project descriptions, executive summaries and a Powerpoint presentation. (12/15/05)

Five New Southeast Regional Center Projects
We have added three new projects starting in 2005. They include "The Development of a Model of Access to Nursing," "Physician Supply Modelling Review," "Outcomes of Racially Matched Doctors and Patients in the Rural South," "Development of Model Physician Data Standards," and "Physician Workforce Growth Among Counties in the Rural South: A Consequence of Favorable Recruitment, Favorable Retention, or Both." Click here to read more details about these projects. (12/15/05)

2003 North Carolina Physician Training Fact Sheet (12/8/05)
Produced by the North Carolina Health Professions Data System, this fact sheet examines the education and training data of North Carolina physicians in 2003, and describes demographic and practice characteristics. Click here for the report. Sample findings include:
26.9% of physicians licensed in NC attended NC medical schools
62.4% attended medical school in other states or Canada
10.7% attended medical schools in other countries

Press Release: UNC Report warns of possible doctor shortage, but shows good news for other health fields
North Carolina may be facing a shortage of physicians in the not too distant future, due to declining physician growth rates over the past five years in the state. Click here for the full press release. This news received coverage in several newspapers and Dr. Tom Ricketts was interviewed by WUNC-TV and statewide radio. (11/18/05)

North Carolina Institute of Medicine, Physician Supply Task Force
The North Carolina Institute of Medicine has organized a task force to discuss physician supply issues. Under the auspices of the Technical Assistance project, the Southeast Regional Center for Workforce Studies, along with the North Caorlina Health Professions Data System, are are working with the NC IOM to prepare and examine data on primary care and specialist physicians. The goal of this study will be to develop public and private policy options to ensure that North Carolina has an adequate supply of providers distributed throughout the state, and will conclude with a summit to be held in 2006. Further information and data can be found on the NC IOM website at http://www.nciom.org/projects/supply/primary_specialty.html. (10/18/05)