Web site:
Methods: Scholarship, Loan Repayment, Family Medicine graduate training, specialized placement
Cost: The cost to the state was 100 million for GME and 18 million for scholarships and 11 million for administrative/other.
Outcomes: Conservative estimate of 15% of physician FTE located in target areas with an impact of 445 million dollars, total impact of the program is 3100 physician FTE years and 3.6 billion dollars total with 2.7 of that in rural areas of the state.
Interpretation: The combination of Oral Roberts Medical School, Oklahoma State Osteopathic Medical School, and specialized graduate training at Shawnee, Enid, and Bartlesville all contributed to the Oklahoma effort. At all Oklahoma residencies, the practice management training involved preparing a detailed plan for a rural practice including Tulsa also functions as a smaller branch campus, another effective method of dispersing graduates.
Oklahoma State Osteopathic School contributed greatly to the state efforts. Osteopathic students are 2 to 3 times more likely to choose rural practice. This is even greater in some schools. The rate for OSU was
Osteopathic students also made the state efforts more effective. In studies from the early 1980’s, 77% of osteopathic graduates honored their scholarship placing them in rural areas, 50% of allopathic family physicians did so, and only 20% of allopathic internal medicine graduates went rural. This does confirm that medical schools with different approaches working in cooperation with state efforts are a potent combination.
Other contributors: An less well known but significant contributor to the Oklahoma effort was not a part of the state investment. From 1982 to 1990 Oral Roberts University had a medical school. The impact of the graduates of this school was great as 52% graduated into rural practice. WAMI Report on Rural Graduation Rates. The methods of selection are not entirely known but suffice it to say that a significant service component was assessed in the candidates. The large percentage graduating into rural practice actually inhibits linear regression studies assessing the factors involved in graduating students into rural practice. Medical Schools and Rural Graduation Rates - New Research 2002
My thanks to Mike Pontious for sending this report to me. The Oklahoma Physician Manpower Training Commission has placed physicians for over 25 years. OPMTC physicians have served 3100 physician FTE years in the state.
These physicians have returned $3.6 billion dollars of direct and indirect impact on an investment of 130 million dollars with 2.7 billion in impact in rural areas alone. This is just the dollar contribution. Obviously some physicians would have made these choices anyway. The commission has estimated that 15% of the physicians that they have placed would not have been there without the state investment, this has meant 445 million dollars going to the communities most in need in the state for only 130 million in tax dollars. Their figure for the impact of each physician on the community including practice, direct jobs, and indirect on hospital and nursing home and pharmacy was $954,000 per physician per year. 25+ Years Oklahoma Physician Manpower Training Commission from Center for Health Policy Research, Center for Health Sciences, 2345 Southwest Blvd Tulsa, OK 74107
By the numbers for more on rural doctors and rural economic impact