A law in Missouri and Kansas offers a new solution to a doctor shortage that's plaguing thousands of underserved communities.
Medical school graduates could start treating patients immediately, without having to go through years of residency programs. However, Missouri regulators are still trying to implement the law 18 months after it first passed.
And not a single new doctor has gone into practice in any of the states as a result of their new laws.
The law creates a license for an “assistant physician,” defined as someone who graduated from medical school within the last three years and passed the first two rounds of licensing exams within the last two years, but who has not completed a residency program.
The law allows med students to provide primary care services in “medically underserved” areas as long as they are supervised by another physician.
Following Missouri’s lead, similar measures were enacted in Arkansas and Kansas, and are being considered in Oklahoma.
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Alyson Bruner can be reached at alyson.bruner@kshb.com.
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