Many rural Georgia counties have few internal medicine doctors to treat chronic and complex diseases. Experts say that offering financial incentives to help new doctors pay off debt is one way to attract them to Georgia’s countryside.
Medical leaders from around the state discussed the impacts of a lack of access to internal medicine at a Tuesday meeting of a House of Representatives study committee.
Vicky Lewis is the leader of Coffee Regional Medical Center in South Georgia.
“Those who live in rural communities simply are more ill,” she said. “They have more chronic diseases, they have more difficulty in managing things that are more available from a resource standpoint in large communities.”
Lewis’ hospital established a residency program for new doctors last year. Dr. William Hannah Jr. is an internal medicine specialist in Savannah. He said that in addition to creating residency programs in rural communities, more financial support is needed to attract new doctors to these areas. He says that currently, pay for internal medicine doctors is lower than for specialists.
“The amount of money they’re earning is significant, but they struggle to make ends meet with the cost of living, housing and having to pay back loans,” Hannah said. “So, the initial opportunity would be to offer them an additional payment while they’re in residency to encourage them to go to a rural or underserved area.”
Experts also highlighted encouraging youth in rural areas to study medicine and return to practice in their communities.
