The 21st National Conference's "Consequences" Theme: Strategic Interventions in the State of Michigan

Last Updated on April 16, 2022 by Lee Burnett, DO, FAAFP

The National Conference’s extended sessions on the primary care workforce will include case studies of several states. Two states hard hit by the current recession are Michigan and California. A presentation led by Doctor Daniel Webster will detail Michigan State University’s interventions in Michigan’s geographical areas of high need to improve the primary care physician workforce and primary health care systems.

Doctor Webster, Community Assistant Dean for the Traverse City campus of Michigan State University/College of Human Medicine (MSU/CHM), will address the supply and demand for Michigan physicians through the year 2020 as presented in the 2005 Blue ribbon physician workforce study and subsequent update of 2008.

Dean Webster will describe the medical school enrollment expansion for all of Michigan’s medical schools and specifically the MSU/CHM response and growth over the last several yours with the further development of regional medical campuses covering the state of Michigan.

He will discuss the pros and cons of increased medical school enrollment, as well as how this initiative does or does not address the need of primary care access in the future. As a previous family medicine residency director, he will discuss the graduate medical education response in the state of Michigan to this physician workforce need, and how recent hospital system affiliations impact Michigan health care.

Dr Webster will consider the impact of health care reform (or lack of it) and the implications of the economic downturn in Michigan on the original goals of the 2005 strategy to increase the workforce of physicians in Michigan.