Prince George’s County leaders are trying to figure out how to attract more doctors to the area amid a significant shortage of primary care physicians in the county.
Primary care doctors are critical in helping people maintain good health and treating chronic diseases like diabetes.
But an assessment from health care consulting firm Huron found vast gaps in Prince George’s County’s health care infrastructure, including a gap of more than 1,000 doctors. Primary care doctors account for about half of that gap, according to the report.
Dr. Evangeline Obi said she gave up her primary care practice in the county because of the heavy workload.
“It gets overwhelming. I have a 4-year-old I have to take care of. I couldn’t keep up with everything,” Obi told News4. She now works for an urgent care facility.
Obi said primary care doctors also typically make less than other physicians despite the extra work.
“It might even get worse, the shortage, because the younger doctors coming out of medical school may not want to work so hard and get paid little,” Obi said.
Huron’s report said there’s one primary care doctor in the county for every 2,331 residents. That physician-to-population ratio is about 60% higher than the overall D.C.-Maryland area, according to Huron.
“At least a fourth of people were going to emergency rooms for issues that should be seen by primary care physicians,” Prince George’s County Councilmember Wala Blegay said.
She said the doctor shortage is alarming.
“The highest [cause of] death in this county is not gun violence. It’s heart disease,” Blegay said in a recent council meeting.
Blegay brought in medical experts from across the region to discuss the shortage and ways to attract more doctors.
“Sometimes the reports at the state level makes it seem that people are OK leaving the county for care to go to D.C., Montgomery County, Anne Arundel County. But for quality of life, we feel that health care should be close,” Blegay said.
Howard University Faculty Practice Plan was among the presenters at the health care meeting. It’s a doctors group interested in providing care in the county.
“I thought what was interesting in all the statistics is that 42% of county members actually seek their care outside of the county. So, we really, our doctors live here, are interested in taking care of the community. They’re a part of it,” said Leslie Jones, chief medical officer at Howard’s Faculty Practice Plan.
Some health officials say it can cost several hundred thousand dollars to start a medical practice so offering incentives could be one way for the county to attract primary care physicians.
Blegay said she’s working to get Howard University doctors into the county, and to see if any state dollars are available to help address the shortage.
Want more insights? Join Working Title - our career elevating newsletter and get the future of work delivered weekly.
