Physician program not easing shortage, newspaper reports

In the program, foreign-born doctors agree to practice in underserved communities for three years.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Ohio’s program for foreign-born medical school graduates is not easing the state’s shortage of primary care doctors, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported Monday.

Foreign-born doctors across the United States can apply for a visa waiver if they agree to practice in an underserved community for three years. Thousands of doctors sign up each year and the programs have become a major source of medical service for rural and poor communities.

More than half of the doctors who joined Ohio’s program in the past two years are working as specialists at major hospitals and are not primary care doctors, the paper found.

“We have such a hard time finding doctors. Why are multimillion-dollar hospital organizations using this?” said Joe Liszak, chief executive of Fremont-based Community Health Services, a federally qualified health center in Sandusky County. “That’s just not right. This program was designed for the underserved.”

About half of Ohio’s counties qualify for the program, including urban counties such as Cuyahoga, Franklin and Hamilton.

Foreign-born doctors prefer big cities over rural areas, where wages are often lower. Thirteen of the program’s 98 doctors are practicing at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Cleveland Clinic.

Cleveland Clinic spokeswoman Eileen Sheil said the hospital can’t find enough American-born doctors who are specialists.

“The state’s program is designed to meet the needs of the underserved areas in Ohio,” Sheil said. “We believe that our participation in this program meets those community and patient needs.”

Clinics and hospitals must first prove they have unsuccessfully attempted to hire American doctors for those positions in order to qualify for foreign-born doctors.

The percentage of a program doctor’s patients who have Medicaid or Medicare coverage or who are uninsured must at least match those rates for the county’s population.

Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Alvin Jackson said he plans to review the program.

He said the health department could restrict hospitals that don’t meet guidelines for receiving the foreign-born doctors.