Oklahoma Physicians Group: Rural Areas Facing Critical Doctor Shortage

By Craig Day, The News On 6

OOLOGAH OK --An Oklahoma physicians group wants state lawmakers to pass a measure that would encourage doctors to practice in small towns and rural areas across our state.

They say all regions of Oklahoma are in critical need of more primary care doctors.

Dr. James Stauffer is the only doctor practicing in Oologah. It's a vocation and location he enjoys.

"In a rural community you become a part of the community," Dr. Stauffer said.

But fewer primary care doctors are practicing in smaller towns and rural areas. The Oklahoma Academy of Family Physicians calls it a critical shortage.

"These are the doctors that you remember as children growing up who took care of you and your whole family, these are the doctors that are disappearing in our state," Dr. Russell Kohl, Family Physician, said.

"But they are the basis for the entire health care system in our state."

Of Oklahoma's 77 counties, 59 don't meet the national standard of one primary care doctor for every 3,500 residents, ranking Oklahoma last in the nation for doctor/patient ratio.

Medical school student Julia Edwards wants to be a small town doctor.

"As I told my faculty and as I told my parents that, they thought well, that's a wonderful dream, but how are you ever going to pay back your loans?" she said.

That staggering cost prompts many new doctors to choose a specialty or to practice in a big city to make more money. That means fewer family doctors and options for rural residents.

"People simply delay their care," Dr. Kohl said. "My blood pressure is not that bad, it's ok. I don't want to drive 60 miles to go to the doctor. My blood pressure is close; I'll just go another month or two before I talk to the doctor."

The Academy of Family Physicians wants lawmakers to pass a plan that restructures taxes on smokeless tobacco, and use those nine million dollars collected each year to pay off loans for doctors who practice in underserved areas.

It's an idea Dr. Stauffer thinks will make a difference.

"If you want to attract people to the rural areas, that would add an extra incentive for them to go there," he said.

Many of those young doctors are going to Texas, which passed a similar measure last year. Its estimated Oklahoma will need more than 2,000 additional primary care doctors for underserved areas by 2015.