Medical community in Hutchinson at odds over shortage of physicians – The Hutchinson News

Dan Deming| Special to the Hutchinson News

There's disagreement on whether Hutchinson faces a shortage of familypractice doctors with the local hospital saying it's "significant" and "overwhelming" while PrairieStar Health Center maintains "the need simply does not currently exist."

Thelatter assessment comes from Bryant Anderson, PrairieStar CEO, in a seven page website answer to my June 26th column.Hutchinson Regional Medical Center has ventured into hiring and heavily advertising, providing primary care physicians that previously were only offered by the Hutchinson Clinic (which is yet to respond), PraireStar and private practice physicians.

"There's always room for improvement," saidAnderson, who notes "differentiating between primary care and family practice is important in understanding why there isn't a shortage."

Anderson counts several types of providers:internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology and mid-level workers, such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, when he assesses primary care needs.

PrairieStar contendsthere are 49 primary care providers in Hutchinson; not only the 18 family practice doctors listed on websites.In arguingthe hospital needs to do more recruiting, President/CEO Ken Johnson has cited outside hospital paid studies and a state health care analysis, saying Reno County has 55 primary care physicians and should have 72.

According to Anderson, 25% of Americans don't have a PCP and a Kaiser Foundation study showed nearly half of 18 to 29 year old's don't.The surge of walk-in care, alternative medicine options and specialists also doing primary care are all listedas reasons why Hutchinson doesn't face a shortage the hospital claims in launching open competition for family doctors with the for profit Clinic and PrairieStar, a federally qualified health center.

Anderson says all three medical centers along with The Summit offer services "grounded in their unique areas of expertise" and that "exceptional continuity of care can only be achieved when each focuses on what they do best, avoiding fracturing the system further by diversifying into areas they lack expertise."

"Patients end up paying the price when the medical community becomes fractured,"Anderson said.

PrairieStar also says there is "no question that some patients are going elsewhere forhealthcare, but it has nothing to do with a lack of access to family practice providers." The hospital contends "$100m plus is going outside Reno County" because of lacking primary care doctors.

The East 30th and K-61 facility plans to hold a Hutchinson Health Care Summitin coming months, inviting providers, patients and the community to discuss areas where the medical community is falling short.

"We need to find a way to earn the trust of those patients leaving our community to have their overall primary care and specialty needs met," Anderson said.

A social media survey is also planned by PrairieStar with additional information available on their web site. In our earlier interview, Hutch Regional CEO Johnson said the hospital is "trying to focus on the big picture," stopping leakage of patients outside the community while improving local health care options.

As a former hospital board member and chairman in the early 1980s, I can only say that if the four major local health care providers along with other medical interests and patients actually get together to discuss and resolve local healthcare territory and concerns, it could lead to the most significantimprovement in local medical care since Hutchinson'stwo hospitals merged in 1971 and opened 4 years later.

Dan Deming, former general manager of Hutchinson radio station KWBW and former Reno County Commissioner, can be reached at 620-960-6733 or dan.deming2@gmail.com.

The opinions expressed in this column are that of the opinion writer and not necessarily The Hutchinson News.

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Medical community in Hutchinson at odds over shortage of physicians - The Hutchinson News