Foreign-Trained Doctors are Critical to Serving Many U.S. Communities

(Press Release) There are more than 247,000 doctors with medical degrees from foreign countries practicing in the United States, making up slightly more than one-quarter of all doctors. Although the data used in this report does not contain information on country of birth or citizenship, evidence from other sources indicates that most foreign-trained doctors are not U.S. citizens—meaning that the majority are foreign-born. These doctors play a key role in providing healthcare for millions of Americans.

This report builds upon other studies that have looked at the critical role foreign-trained doctors play regionally, in underserved communities, in rural areas, and in providing primary health care. It finds that foreign-trained physicians are more likely than U.S.-trained doctors to practice in lower-income and disadvantaged communities and, as a result, their presence is critically important.

More precisely, this report examines foreign-trained doctors in Primary Care Service Areas (PCSAs) and analyzes the socio-demographic characteristics of the populations they serve (see Methodology). For instance, it finds that:

• In areas with the highest poverty rates—where more than 30 percent of the population lives below the federal poverty rate—nearly one-third of all doctors are foreign-trained.
• Where per-capita income is below $15,000 per year, 42.5 percent of all doctors are foreign-trained.
• Where 75 percent or more of the population is non-white, 36.2 percent of the doctors are foreign-trained.
• Where 10 percent or less of the population has a college degree, nearly one-third of all doctors are foreign-trained.

Foreign-trained doctors play such an important role in filling medical shortfalls in disadvantaged communities because of the large disparities in access to healthcare that exist in the United States. Research has found that minorities and the poor are less likely to have health insurance and less likely to have a regular source of medical care. African Americans and low-income Hispanics are more likely than Caucasians and Asians to live in “healthcare deserts”—areas with few or no primary-care physicians. African Americans and Hispanics may be up to twice as likely as whites to live in zip codes with few or no primary-care physicians.

The demand for foreign-trained doctors will only increase as the need for doctors and accessible, affordable healthcare in the United States continues to grow. The Association of American Medical Colleges found that the demand for doctors will continue to outpace supply, leading to a projected shortfall of between 46,100 and 90,400 doctors by 2025, many in primary care. These shortages are compounded by the fact that large numbers of doctors will be retiring in the next few years.

Yet U.S. immigration policies significantly limit the ability of these doctors to immigrate to and practice in the United States. As policy-makers debate what immigration reforms would best serve the national interest, they should keep in mind that foreign-trained doctors are already taking the lead on providing care to many communities across the United States.

Read more at: https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/foreign-trained-doctors-are-critical-serving-many-us-communities