Harvard Professor Eram Alam Discusses Her Just-Published Book, "The Care of Foreigners, How Immigrant Physicians Changed US Healthcare"

About this episode

Professor Eram Alam discusses her book on the impact of immigrant physicians on the US healthcare system and the ongoing physician shortage.

The US has effectively always suffered a physician shortage. Last year the AMA estimated a shortage of 86,000 by 2035. US policymakers have since 1965 addressed this problem by recruiting foreign born physicians (termed Foreign Medical Graduates or FMGs), mostly from Southeast Asia, largely India. Today FMEs, that account for 25-30% of the physician workforce, are disproportionately employed in Health Professional Shortage Areas or HPSAs in which there remains or persists a strong demand, e.g., HRSA recognizes over 7,500 primary care HPSAs. Nevertheless, Prof. Alam concludes stratifying our medical system can be interpreted in part as a cover up to a problem of long-term disinvestment in rural healthcare and minority health. Simply growing the work force has had, Prof Alam argues, both a minimal impact on the equitable distribution of US healthcare resources while intensifying global health inequalities resulting from substantial brain drain. Information about Prof. Alam’s book is at: https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/53838/care-foreigners?srsltid=AfmBOopgVAOX_1s9S7NaIMoKsXgrUS2htC4_HaE0zTYDrfQJltnIpRK7. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other…

People in this episode

Host: David Introcaso

Guest: Eram Alam

Topics covered

• physician shortage
• immigrant physicians
• healthcare policy
• health disparities
• rural healthcare
• global health inequalities

Keywords

• physician workforce
• foreign medical graduates
• health professional shortage areas
• healthcare resources
• brain drain
• equitable distribution
• disinvestment

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: AMA, HRSA

Books & works: The Care of Foreigners, How Immigrant Physicians Changed US Healthcare

Places: United States, Southeast Asia, India

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