physician shortage

More nurse practitioners are stepping up to meet the needs of Hoosier patients as Indiana grapples with a shortage of primary care doctors.

Earlier this month, dignitaries gathered at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro to cut the ribbon on a new medical school, only the second in a state with a dire shortage of doctors.

If someone is well-educated, the odds are that he or she will marry someone with similar credentials, according to census data. And that trend has consequences when it comes to access to health care in rural areas.

Rural areas have for years been facing a doctor shortage. That means for the roughly 20 percent of Americans who live in those areas, it’s harder to get care when it’s needed. Policymakers have been trying to create programs that offer medical debt forgiveness and other incentives to doctors willing to set up shop away from the city. But a research letter published Tuesday in JAMA highlights how a key demographic change — the rise of power couples — is stacking the deck against these efforts.

There’s a serious doctor shortage in the United States and the problem is set to get worse if medical schools don't increase the number of physicians they train.

According to a 2015 report prepared for the ​Association of American Medical Colleges, the demand for physicians-- especially primary care doctors--is growing faster than the supply. The analysis projects there will be a shortage of 46,100 to 90,400 physicians by 2025.