07-10-2006, 05:27 AM
I am currrently on the medical advisory board for an HMO and yes these are problems faced by others. In our HMO we require and are required by national accrediting agencies (Kaiser is the same) to have certain levels of access. It is sometimes difficult here on the mainland to achieve these levels but our task is relatively easy compared to yours.
I don't have the figures in front of me but a neurosurgeon, for example, requires a population of 80,000. So the BI should have two. But if there are two then they are on call 50% of the time, which is unacceptable. Call should not be more than 1 in 4 . and so it goes. Rural, isolated areas on the mainland have a lot of difficulty. And alot of patients are medflighted from rural areas.
On top of that, there are significant shortages of certain types of physicians, for example, cardiologists. A good cardiologist requires a hospital with cardiac cath capabilities and a heart surgeon and a population base that is big enough to keep their skills current and the BI popiulation is just not big enough and it never will be.
Right now there is a nationwide shortage of a lot of different specialists. Add to that that the salaries for docs in Hawaii are about 50% the mainland and the workload 2 to 3 times greater, there is powerful incentive for doctors not to come to Hawaii to practice.
Edited by - lee dejongh on 07/10/2006 09:28:15
I don't have the figures in front of me but a neurosurgeon, for example, requires a population of 80,000. So the BI should have two. But if there are two then they are on call 50% of the time, which is unacceptable. Call should not be more than 1 in 4 . and so it goes. Rural, isolated areas on the mainland have a lot of difficulty. And alot of patients are medflighted from rural areas.
On top of that, there are significant shortages of certain types of physicians, for example, cardiologists. A good cardiologist requires a hospital with cardiac cath capabilities and a heart surgeon and a population base that is big enough to keep their skills current and the BI popiulation is just not big enough and it never will be.
Right now there is a nationwide shortage of a lot of different specialists. Add to that that the salaries for docs in Hawaii are about 50% the mainland and the workload 2 to 3 times greater, there is powerful incentive for doctors not to come to Hawaii to practice.
Edited by - lee dejongh on 07/10/2006 09:28:15