by Guest Author | Jul 10, 2019
Over the past few years, and in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the result of the 2012 Presidential election, access to health care services has been in the forefront of health care discussions. Driving these discussions are rising chronic disease rates, skyrocketing health care costs, and the ever increasing number of individuals falling into that black hole known as the “uninsured” — all of which are major burdens on Indiana’s health system. Regardless of ones perspective on health reform, the links between primary health care access, health outcomes, and health care costs are undeniable [1-3]. People with access to primary health care services live longer, healthier lives, and the overall cost of their health care are less than those without access to these services. Ensuring a strong primary health care system across the State of Indiana is crucial to ensuring the health of Hoosiers and improving the efficiency of Indiana’s health system. However, before our current system can be strengthened, it must be understood. This begs the following questions: what is primary care?; why is it important?; who provides these services?; and where are they located? The development and implementation of health policies and primary health care programs that would secure Hoosier health relies on the ability of the State of Indiana to make informed decisions.
by Guest Author | Jul 10, 2019
Workforce shortages have been documented across a broad spectrum of health profession disciplines in Indiana. Currently, federal, state and local programs exist to recruit and retain health professionals in our state; however, these programs have had minimal impact on the underlying factors that contribute to the problem. Additional steps must be taken to expand the supply of health professionals to adequately meet the growing need for health care services among Indiana residents. While many health professional shortages exist, this brief will focus on the primary care physicians and nurses needed to provide medical homes for residents of our state.
by Guest Author | Jul 10, 2019
The physician assistant (PA) workforce in Indiana is growing quickly. Since 2004, the estimated number of non‐government − employed PAs actively working in Indiana has more than doubled, from less than 400 in 2004 to nearly 900 in 2012.
by Guest Author | Jul 10, 2019
Physician assistants (PAs) were asked to participate in a survey when they renewed their state license to practice in 2012. There were 989 total PAs who renewed their licenses in 2012, of which 819 completed their renewal online and were offered the survey. Of those offered the survey, 730 (89.1%) completed it. There were 660 physician assistants who met all of the inclusion criteria for the analysis. Individuals included in the analysis must have (1) responded to the survey, (2) held an active or probationary Indiana license, (3) listed at least one Indiana practice address, and (4) indicated that they were actively working as a physician assistant. Only individuals who listed a primary practice address in Indiana were included in the maps in Chapter 4. The sample analyzed in this report represents 66.7 percent of the total number of PA licensees in the state.
by Guest Author | Jul 10, 2019
The Indiana State Department of Health and the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency developed a collaborative partnership to collect data through the licensing process to better understand the health professions workforce within the state. Beginning in 2004, physician assistants were asked to participate in voluntary surveys when renewing their licenses every two years. The purpose of this report is to summarize the participants’ responses to the survey items. The responses provide a detailed description of the physician assistant workforce in the state of Indiana to aid in the development of policies and programs to recruit and retain these health professionals where they are needed in Indiana.
