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Primary Care Shortage Persists Across Virginia, Research Shows

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - A Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) research paper describes that 44% of people in Virginia lack adequate access to primary care.

"If you lack access to a primary care physician, or have a long distance to drive, it's more likely that you'll delay care, particularly preventative care, and only show up when things have gotten very bad," said Doctor Mo Nadkarni, professor of medicine and Division Chief for General Internal Medicine at UVA.

Hannah Shadowen, an M.D.-Ph.D. Student at VCU, was the lead researcher on the report. She says the findings show that rural areas were less likely to have access to adequate primary care physicians, as opposed to urban and suburban areas.

"The surprising finding for us was that the areas that were disproportionately Black neighborhoods had more primary care providers than neighborhoods that had disproportionately white residents," Shadowen described.

Shadowen says the finding may be the result of population distribution in Virginia, with rural areas tending to be predominantly white, or the result of health care working to serve communities negatively impacted by racism.

"I believe primary care's mission is to not only help individuals but to reduce inequity, and so ideally by showing up in neighborhoods that have been historically not part of the medical system, that can reduce the impact of racism on people's health," Shadowen described.

Dr. Nadkarni says that primary care is essential to managing health, but with physicians left to manage a large number of patients and receiving less pay than other specialties, shortages persist.

"With the lack of access, there's more work per primary care physician, and people are getting overwhelmed and burning out," Nadkarni described. "It's harder to hold onto and retain primary care physicians, particularly in rural areas where they may not have as much support as larger groups in urban areas."

Both Dr. Nadkarni and Shadowen say supporting medical students could enhance the pipeline of future doctors looking to practice primary care.

"Typically, primary care providers are not paid as well as other specialties," Shadowen said. "When you're looking at [$300,000] or $400,000 of medical school debt, which is often the price of medical school, if you don't have financial support, that's kind of a tough pill to swallow."

Dr. Nadkarni says that in addition to supporting the pipeline of future doctors, addressing socio-economic determinants of health are needed to improve access.

"Policies that strengthen primary care's ability to take care of their patients are always good, and I think that the vast majority of doctors, and particularly primary care doctors, got into the business because they care about their patients," Shadowen said. "So, giving them the tools to do that, and the ability to do it, is important."

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UVA Opens Primary Care, Specialty Clinic - Becker's Hospital Review

The 45,000-square-foot clinic houses 15 specialty services, a pharmacy, comprehensive imaging services and a medical laboratory.

Specialties offered include cardiology, neurology, neurosurgery, obstetrics, orthopedics, sports medicine, pulmonary care and spine care.

According to the report, the Zion Crossroads facility is a unique blend of emergency department and hospital designed to increase access to care for patients within Charlottesville, Va.-based University Health System's service area. 

UVa Opens Primary Care Clinic In Waynesboro

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