Pharmacists Have Expanded Duties in CA

California may have found one solution to the primary-care physician shortage. On October 1, Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill No. 493 that will expand the ability of pharmacists to serve patients and collaborate with other healthcare providers.  The result will be an increase in access to care and efficiency, as patients without primary-care providers can now receive treatment from their local pharmacist, instead of trying to find a doctor in their network or waiting until their condition worsens to visit the emergency department.

The legislation authorizes pharmacists to administer drugs and routine vaccinations, as well as order and interpret tests to monitor drug therapies.  Advanced-practice pharmacists will gain board recognition to perform additional functions normally performed by a physician or nurse practitioner, such as patient assessments.

decenthospital.com

The bill, in its original form, allowed pharmacists to perform these duties without the collaboration of a physician. However amendments were put in place to include integration with a physician and create the advanced-pharmacist designation, with appropriate education and training.

The primary-care provider shortage in California is expected to worsen as the ACA expands coverage to millions of uninsured Californians. The goal of this legislation is to create another avenue of access to healthcare for patients who are unable to access a primary-care provider.

Doctors Delivering Pizza, Not Patient Care

In a country with a shortage of primary care physicians, there are too many doctors not practicing medicine. And with Obamacare potentially adding 25 million to 30 million people to the health system, the doctor shortage is going to get worse before it gets better.

But it turns out that this country is ripe with doctors itching to return to the practice of medicine.  On the 4th of July, CNN broke a story about the country's most overqualified house painters, McDonald's employees, and construction workers. Surprise -- many of them are doctors.

In Southern California, an estimated 3,000 medically trained Latino immigrant doctors aren't practicing medicine but, rather, cleaning your house, delivering your pizza, or asking "do you want fries with that?"  To help these physicians obtain their licenses to practice medicine in the U.S., UCLA has launched the International Medical Graduates (IMG) program.

The IMG program provides test prep classes and clinical observations with UCLA doctors. It also covers the cost of the U.S. medical board exam and provides a monthly stipend.

Funded by private donors, the program has helped 66 Latino immigrant doctors pass the board exams and get placed into residency programs in California. In return, the doctors commit to working three years in an underserved area.

This program is especially important to have in California where 40% of the population is Latino compared to a mere 5% of doctors of the same ethnic origin. 

Read more about personal stories of these doctors here.