BOSTON, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Massachusetts lawmakers are trying to ease a chronic shortage of doctors with financial incentives and programs to attract primary care doctors.
The Boston Globe said primary care doctors are retiring or leaving primary care for higher paying, lower stress specialties at the same time that fewer doctors are entering the field. A recent study by the Journal of the American Medical Association found just 2 percent of students graduating from medical school plan
to practice primary care.
The Massachusetts Medical Society surveyed 100 internists and found the average wait time for an appointment for a new patient was 50 days, with some patients waiting up to 100 days.
New legislation will provide $1.5 million to help the University of Massachusetts Medical School expand its class size and waive tuition for students who agree to spend four years as primary care doctors in Massachusetts after they finish training, the newspaper said. The state will also repay medical
school loans of doctors who agree to work in community health centers or in underserved areas.
