Jane Anderson

Major Findings: More than three-quarters of physicians believe that Medicare reimbursements are inequitable; however, there is little agreement on how to reform the system.

Data Source: A national survey of physician attitudes on Medicare payment. Physicians were randomly sampled from the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile.

Disclosures: The survey was supported by grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; the National Institute on Aging; the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; and the Veterans Administration Health Services Research and Development Service.

Physicians are dissatisfied with the current Medicare reimbursement system and want reform, yet they disagree on what type of reform they would be willing to accept.

“Most physicians believe that Medicare reimbursements are inequitable, and yet there is little consensus among them regarding major proposals to reform reimbursement,” Dr. Alex D. Federman and his colleagues from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, said regarding their national survey of physicians' opinions on reform, published Oct. 25 in Archives of Internal Medicine.

“Overall, physicians seem to be opposed to reforms that risk lowering their incomes. Thus, finding common ground among different specialties to reform physician reimbursement, reduce health care spending, and improve health care quality will be difficult,” the investigators noted.

The investigators surveyed physicians between June and October 2009 – at the height of the congressional debate on health reform. Of 2,518 physicians who received a version of the survey addressing reimbursement reform, 1,222 (49%) responded.

In all, 78% of respondents agreed that under Medicare some procedures are compensated too highly while others aren't compensated enough. However, when asked about specific methods to reform Medicare payment, the physicians surveyed showed little agreement.

More than two-thirds of physicians said they opposed bundled payments, with surgeons – who have the most experience with bundling – expressing the lowest levels of support for this strategy (Arch. Intern. Med. 2010;170:1735-42). “Because bundled payments are likely to be implemented in one form or another, this mechanism ought to be carefully explained to physicians to promote broad acceptance and smooth implementation,” Dr. Federman and colleagues wrote.

Half of the responding physicians said they supported financial incentives to improve quality, and “support for incentives was more common and more consistent across all specialties compared with shifting and bundling payments,” the investigators wrote. “Actual experience with financial incentives to improve quality could have directly informed physicians' generally more positive views of these types of reimbursement mechanisms.”

Physicians disagreed on whether to shift some portion of payments from procedures to management and counseling, with those who conduct procedures saying they were against it and those who do more management and counseling coming out in favor of it.

The investigators reported no relevant conflicts of interest.

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Failure to Reform Could Lead to Cuts in All Fees

“Despite physician concerns about payment reform, failure to change payment systems may be worse for providers,” Michael E. Chernew, Ph.D., wrote in an accompanying commentary. “If we retain the current fee-for-service system, there will likely be significant downward pressure on payment rates for all providers … hoping that payment reform (or fee cuts) will not materialize seems overly optimistic.”

It's likely that any payment reform will have significant effects on the basic business model of many physician practices, but providers can find ways to save costs within most of the reforms by reducing redundant and unnecessary care, according to Dr. Chernew (Arch. Intern. Med. 2010;170:1742-4).

“Payment reform will surely generate some provider backlash, and surely bundled payments will create tension between physicians and other types of providers, among different specialties, and between primary care and specialist physicians,” he wrote.

“Moreover, the transition to new payment systems may not be easy, requiring considerable investment and organizational change.” But failing to act could lead to worse consequences for physicians, he wrote.

DR. MICHAEL E. CHERNEW is a professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School. He reported no relevant financial conflicts of interest.

Major Findings: More than three-quarters of physicians believe that Medicare reimbursements are inequitable; however, there is little agreement on how to reform the system.

Data Source: A national survey of physician attitudes on Medicare payment. Physicians were randomly sampled from the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile.

Disclosures: The survey was supported by grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; the National Institute on Aging; the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; and the Veterans Administration Health Services Research and Development Service.

Physicians are dissatisfied with the current Medicare reimbursement system and want reform, yet they disagree on what type of reform they would be willing to accept.

“Most physicians believe that Medicare reimbursements are inequitable, and yet there is little consensus among them regarding major proposals to reform reimbursement,” Dr. Alex D. Federman and his colleagues from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, said regarding their national survey of physicians' opinions on reform, published Oct. 25 in Archives of Internal Medicine.

“Overall, physicians seem to be opposed to reforms that risk lowering their incomes. Thus, finding common ground among different specialties to reform physician reimbursement, reduce health care spending, and improve health care quality will be difficult,” the investigators noted.

The investigators surveyed physicians between June and October 2009 – at the height of the congressional debate on health reform. Of 2,518 physicians who received a version of the survey addressing reimbursement reform, 1,222 (49%) responded.

In all, 78% of respondents agreed that under Medicare some procedures are compensated too highly while others aren't compensated enough. However, when asked about specific methods to reform Medicare payment, the physicians surveyed showed little agreement.

More than two-thirds of physicians said they opposed bundled payments, with surgeons – who have the most experience with bundling – expressing the lowest levels of support for this strategy (Arch. Intern. Med. 2010;170:1735-42). “Because bundled payments are likely to be implemented in one form or another, this mechanism ought to be carefully explained to physicians to promote broad acceptance and smooth implementation,” Dr. Federman and colleagues wrote.

Half of the responding physicians said they supported financial incentives to improve quality, and “support for incentives was more common and more consistent across all specialties compared with shifting and bundling payments,” the investigators wrote. “Actual experience with financial incentives to improve quality could have directly informed physicians' generally more positive views of these types of reimbursement mechanisms.”

Physicians disagreed on whether to shift some portion of payments from procedures to management and counseling, with those who conduct procedures saying they were against it and those who do more management and counseling coming out in favor of it.

The investigators reported no relevant conflicts of interest.

View on the News

Failure to Reform Could Lead to Cuts in All Fees

“Despite physician concerns about payment reform, failure to change payment systems may be worse for providers,” Michael E. Chernew, Ph.D., wrote in an accompanying commentary. “If we retain the current fee-for-service system, there will likely be significant downward pressure on payment rates for all providers … hoping that payment reform (or fee cuts) will not materialize seems overly optimistic.”

It's likely that any payment reform will have significant effects on the basic business model of many physician practices, but providers can find ways to save costs within most of the reforms by reducing redundant and unnecessary care, according to Dr. Chernew (Arch. Intern. Med. 2010;170:1742-4).

“Payment reform will surely generate some provider backlash, and surely bundled payments will create tension between physicians and other types of providers, among different specialties, and between primary care and specialist physicians,” he wrote.

“Moreover, the transition to new payment systems may not be easy, requiring considerable investment and organizational change.” But failing to act could lead to worse consequences for physicians, he wrote.

DR. MICHAEL E. CHERNEW is a professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School. He reported no relevant financial conflicts of interest.

Major Findings: More than three-quarters of physicians believe that Medicare reimbursements are inequitable; however, there is little agreement on how to reform the system.

Data Source: A national survey of physician attitudes on Medicare payment. Physicians were randomly sampled from the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile.

Disclosures: The survey was supported by grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; the National Institute on Aging; the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; and the Veterans Administration Health Services Research and Development Service.

Physicians are dissatisfied with the current Medicare reimbursement system and want reform, yet they disagree on what type of reform they would be willing to accept.

“Most physicians believe that Medicare reimbursements are inequitable, and yet there is little consensus among them regarding major proposals to reform reimbursement,” Dr. Alex D. Federman and his colleagues from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, said regarding their national survey of physicians' opinions on reform, published Oct. 25 in Archives of Internal Medicine.

“Overall, physicians seem to be opposed to reforms that risk lowering their incomes. Thus, finding common ground among different specialties to reform physician reimbursement, reduce health care spending, and improve health care quality will be difficult,” the investigators noted.

The investigators surveyed physicians between June and October 2009 – at the height of the congressional debate on health reform. Of 2,518 physicians who received a version of the survey addressing reimbursement reform, 1,222 (49%) responded.

In all, 78% of respondents agreed that under Medicare some procedures are compensated too highly while others aren't compensated enough. However, when asked about specific methods to reform Medicare payment, the physicians surveyed showed little agreement.

More than two-thirds of physicians said they opposed bundled payments, with surgeons – who have the most experience with bundling – expressing the lowest levels of support for this strategy (Arch. Intern. Med. 2010;170:1735-42). “Because bundled payments are likely to be implemented in one form or another, this mechanism ought to be carefully explained to physicians to promote broad acceptance and smooth implementation,” Dr. Federman and colleagues wrote.

Half of the responding physicians said they supported financial incentives to improve quality, and “support for incentives was more common and more consistent across all specialties compared with shifting and bundling payments,” the investigators wrote. “Actual experience with financial incentives to improve quality could have directly informed physicians' generally more positive views of these types of reimbursement mechanisms.”

Physicians disagreed on whether to shift some portion of payments from procedures to management and counseling, with those who conduct procedures saying they were against it and those who do more management and counseling coming out in favor of it.

The investigators reported no relevant conflicts of interest.

View on the News

Failure to Reform Could Lead to Cuts in All Fees

“Despite physician concerns about payment reform, failure to change payment systems may be worse for providers,” Michael E. Chernew, Ph.D., wrote in an accompanying commentary. “If we retain the current fee-for-service system, there will likely be significant downward pressure on payment rates for all providers … hoping that payment reform (or fee cuts) will not materialize seems overly optimistic.”

It's likely that any payment reform will have significant effects on the basic business model of many physician practices, but providers can find ways to save costs within most of the reforms by reducing redundant and unnecessary care, according to Dr. Chernew (Arch. Intern. Med. 2010;170:1742-4).

“Payment reform will surely generate some provider backlash, and surely bundled payments will create tension between physicians and other types of providers, among different specialties, and between primary care and specialist physicians,” he wrote.

“Moreover, the transition to new payment systems may not be easy, requiring considerable investment and organizational change.” But failing to act could lead to worse consequences for physicians, he wrote.

DR. MICHAEL E. CHERNEW is a professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School. He reported no relevant financial conflicts of interest.

Implementing the patient-centered medical home is not enough to improve health care quality; physician education also needs to change, emphasizing team-based approaches to care, participants said at a summit to discuss training gaps in primary care, behavioral health care, and health promotion.

The summit, held at the Carter Center in Atlanta, examined whether medical students are being trained appropriately to function effectively in the newly reformed health care environment.

“Purchasers are actively choosing to buy different kinds of care” because they can't find the types they need in the current system, said Dr. John Bartlett, senior adviser for the Primary Care Initiative at the Carter Center. “Private purchasers are getting tired of paying the price of poor-quality medical education,” Dr. Bartlett told reporters in a conference call.

Meeting participants identified several key deficits in the U.S. medical education system, according to Dr. Michael Barr, senior vice president for medical practice, professionalism, and quality at the American College of Physicians.

“We train people separately and expect them to work together,” Dr. Barr said. And in many programs, physicians-in-training don't meet actual patients until relatively late in their training. Many curricula don't emphasize the types of mental health issues that primary care physicians will need to practice, he added.

Some medical schools have programs worth emulating, but large-scale implementation might require changes in accreditation and regulatory requirements, Dr. Barr said. For example, the University of Wisconsin introduces medical students to patients on their first day in class, which helps sensitize students early in their careers to issues that will arise in primary care.

Dr. Barr pointed out several changes in medical education that could be implemented relatively quickly:

▸ Providing more training for medical students with nonphysician mental health professionals.

▸ Emphasizing wellness and prevention.

▸ Developing faculty members who can teach within the patient-centered medical home model of care.

Dr. Bartlett added that medical schools also need to focus on ambulatory mental health issues, such as mild to moderate depression, that primary care physicians are most likely to encounter in practice, as opposed to providing only experience on the psychiatric ward.

Dr. Barr also noted that redesigning health education could help prevent discouragement among medical students who already were interested in a primary care career, but who become disillusioned during medical school. “Among the several factors that influence their eventual choices is the lack of available role models who provide patient-centered primary health care based on the … medical home model,” he said in an interview.

However, both Dr. Barr and Dr. Bartlett noted that improving medical education won't solve the shortage of primary care physicians unless reimbursement also is addressed.

“Improving education is an important step, but we also need to incentivize more physicians to pursue primary care,” Dr. Bartlett said, noting that currently, only 10% of medical students choose primary care residencies.

“We do have to talk about reimbursements and other financial rewards for choosing primary care,” Dr. Bartlett said in an interview. “I'd especially like to see more funding for researching best practices of incorporating behavioral health into primary care, since we know that between half and 70% of patients seen by primary care doctors have some kind of behavioral health component to their care, and physicians simply aren't equipped to effectively and efficiently deal with these mental health issues.”

Implementing the patient-centered medical home is not enough to improve health care quality; physician education also needs to change, emphasizing team-based approaches to care, participants said at a summit to discuss training gaps in primary care, behavioral health care, and health promotion.

The summit, held at the Carter Center in Atlanta, examined whether medical students are being trained appropriately to function effectively in the newly reformed health care environment.

“Purchasers are actively choosing to buy different kinds of care” because they can't find the types they need in the current system, said Dr. John Bartlett, senior adviser for the Primary Care Initiative at the Carter Center. “Private purchasers are getting tired of paying the price of poor-quality medical education,” Dr. Bartlett told reporters in a conference call.

Meeting participants identified several key deficits in the U.S. medical education system, according to Dr. Michael Barr, senior vice president for medical practice, professionalism, and quality at the American College of Physicians.

“We train people separately and expect them to work together,” Dr. Barr said. And in many programs, physicians-in-training don't meet actual patients until relatively late in their training. Many curricula don't emphasize the types of mental health issues that primary care physicians will need to practice, he added.

Some medical schools have programs worth emulating, but large-scale implementation might require changes in accreditation and regulatory requirements, Dr. Barr said. For example, the University of Wisconsin introduces medical students to patients on their first day in class, which helps sensitize students early in their careers to issues that will arise in primary care.

Dr. Barr pointed out several changes in medical education that could be implemented relatively quickly:

▸ Providing more training for medical students with nonphysician mental health professionals.

▸ Emphasizing wellness and prevention.

▸ Developing faculty members who can teach within the patient-centered medical home model of care.

Dr. Bartlett added that medical schools also need to focus on ambulatory mental health issues, such as mild to moderate depression, that primary care physicians are most likely to encounter in practice, as opposed to providing only experience on the psychiatric ward.

Dr. Barr also noted that redesigning health education could help prevent discouragement among medical students who already were interested in a primary care career, but who become disillusioned during medical school. “Among the several factors that influence their eventual choices is the lack of available role models who provide patient-centered primary health care based on the … medical home model,” he said in an interview.

However, both Dr. Barr and Dr. Bartlett noted that improving medical education won't solve the shortage of primary care physicians unless reimbursement also is addressed.

“Improving education is an important step, but we also need to incentivize more physicians to pursue primary care,” Dr. Bartlett said, noting that currently, only 10% of medical students choose primary care residencies.

“We do have to talk about reimbursements and other financial rewards for choosing primary care,” Dr. Bartlett said in an interview. “I'd especially like to see more funding for researching best practices of incorporating behavioral health into primary care, since we know that between half and 70% of patients seen by primary care doctors have some kind of behavioral health component to their care, and physicians simply aren't equipped to effectively and efficiently deal with these mental health issues.”

Implementing the patient-centered medical home is not enough to improve health care quality; physician education also needs to change, emphasizing team-based approaches to care, participants said at a summit to discuss training gaps in primary care, behavioral health care, and health promotion.

The summit, held at the Carter Center in Atlanta, examined whether medical students are being trained appropriately to function effectively in the newly reformed health care environment.

“Purchasers are actively choosing to buy different kinds of care” because they can't find the types they need in the current system, said Dr. John Bartlett, senior adviser for the Primary Care Initiative at the Carter Center. “Private purchasers are getting tired of paying the price of poor-quality medical education,” Dr. Bartlett told reporters in a conference call.

Meeting participants identified several key deficits in the U.S. medical education system, according to Dr. Michael Barr, senior vice president for medical practice, professionalism, and quality at the American College of Physicians.

“We train people separately and expect them to work together,” Dr. Barr said. And in many programs, physicians-in-training don't meet actual patients until relatively late in their training. Many curricula don't emphasize the types of mental health issues that primary care physicians will need to practice, he added.

Some medical schools have programs worth emulating, but large-scale implementation might require changes in accreditation and regulatory requirements, Dr. Barr said. For example, the University of Wisconsin introduces medical students to patients on their first day in class, which helps sensitize students early in their careers to issues that will arise in primary care.

Dr. Barr pointed out several changes in medical education that could be implemented relatively quickly:

▸ Providing more training for medical students with nonphysician mental health professionals.

▸ Emphasizing wellness and prevention.

▸ Developing faculty members who can teach within the patient-centered medical home model of care.

Dr. Bartlett added that medical schools also need to focus on ambulatory mental health issues, such as mild to moderate depression, that primary care physicians are most likely to encounter in practice, as opposed to providing only experience on the psychiatric ward.

Dr. Barr also noted that redesigning health education could help prevent discouragement among medical students who already were interested in a primary care career, but who become disillusioned during medical school. “Among the several factors that influence their eventual choices is the lack of available role models who provide patient-centered primary health care based on the … medical home model,” he said in an interview.

However, both Dr. Barr and Dr. Bartlett noted that improving medical education won't solve the shortage of primary care physicians unless reimbursement also is addressed.

“Improving education is an important step, but we also need to incentivize more physicians to pursue primary care,” Dr. Bartlett said, noting that currently, only 10% of medical students choose primary care residencies.

“We do have to talk about reimbursements and other financial rewards for choosing primary care,” Dr. Bartlett said in an interview. “I'd especially like to see more funding for researching best practices of incorporating behavioral health into primary care, since we know that between half and 70% of patients seen by primary care doctors have some kind of behavioral health component to their care, and physicians simply aren't equipped to effectively and efficiently deal with these mental health issues.”

More minority students enrolled as first-year medical students in 2010, with Hispanic male medical students especially increasing their numbers, according to new data released by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

The number of black/African American and American Indian first-year medical students also grew this year, and every U.S. region saw increases in medical school enrollment diversity, said AAMC President and CEO Dr. Darrell Kirch.

“The bottom line is, we see more minority students pursuing a career in medicine,” Dr. Kirch said in a telephone press briefing to announce the findings.

Improved diversity will help communities meet their health needs, especially with the increased need for physicians triggered by the Affordable Care Act, he said. “You don't improve the health of a community without having a workforce that reflects the diversity of that community,” Dr. Kirch said, adding that it's not enough for health care reform to provide insurance if there aren't enough physicians. “An insurance card can't take care of you – you need to have a physician to do that.”

Hispanic men increased their enrollment in medical school by 17.1%, while enrollment by Hispanic women grew by 1.6% over 2009, according to the AAMC report. Total Hispanic enrollment rose by 9%. First-year Hispanic enrollees in U.S. medical schools totaled 1,539 in 2010, compared with 1,412 in 2009, according to AAMC.

Black/African American enrollment, meanwhile, grew by 2.9% over 2009. A total of 1,350 black/African American students enrolled in medical school as first-year students in 2010, compared with 1,312 students in 2009.

Asian students also saw gains, with enrollment increasing 2.4% in 2010 to 4,214 from 4,114 in 2009, according to the AAMC report.

Overall, the level of applicants to U.S. medical schools has remained steady for at least the past 4 years, although the total number of first-time applications increased by 2.5% in 2010, said Dr. Kirch.

“Medical school remains a very compelling career choice,” he said. About 42,000 potential students, including 31,063 first-time applicants, competed for about 18,000 openings, he said.

One new medical school – the Virginia Tech Carilion Medical School – accepted its first class this year, and two more are in line to accept their first classes next year, Dr. Kirch said. Another seven medical schools are in the accreditation process, he said.

“This effort to expand medical school enrollment will enable us to add 7,000 more annual graduates,” he said, adding, “we're not focused solely on new schools. We're also focused on [increasing enrollment at] existing schools.”

More minority students enrolled as first-year medical students in 2010, with Hispanic male medical students especially increasing their numbers, according to new data released by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

The number of black/African American and American Indian first-year medical students also grew this year, and every U.S. region saw increases in medical school enrollment diversity, said AAMC President and CEO Dr. Darrell Kirch.

“The bottom line is, we see more minority students pursuing a career in medicine,” Dr. Kirch said in a telephone press briefing to announce the findings.

Improved diversity will help communities meet their health needs, especially with the increased need for physicians triggered by the Affordable Care Act, he said. “You don't improve the health of a community without having a workforce that reflects the diversity of that community,” Dr. Kirch said, adding that it's not enough for health care reform to provide insurance if there aren't enough physicians. “An insurance card can't take care of you – you need to have a physician to do that.”

Hispanic men increased their enrollment in medical school by 17.1%, while enrollment by Hispanic women grew by 1.6% over 2009, according to the AAMC report. Total Hispanic enrollment rose by 9%. First-year Hispanic enrollees in U.S. medical schools totaled 1,539 in 2010, compared with 1,412 in 2009, according to AAMC.

Black/African American enrollment, meanwhile, grew by 2.9% over 2009. A total of 1,350 black/African American students enrolled in medical school as first-year students in 2010, compared with 1,312 students in 2009.

Asian students also saw gains, with enrollment increasing 2.4% in 2010 to 4,214 from 4,114 in 2009, according to the AAMC report.

Overall, the level of applicants to U.S. medical schools has remained steady for at least the past 4 years, although the total number of first-time applications increased by 2.5% in 2010, said Dr. Kirch.

“Medical school remains a very compelling career choice,” he said. About 42,000 potential students, including 31,063 first-time applicants, competed for about 18,000 openings, he said.

One new medical school – the Virginia Tech Carilion Medical School – accepted its first class this year, and two more are in line to accept their first classes next year, Dr. Kirch said. Another seven medical schools are in the accreditation process, he said.

“This effort to expand medical school enrollment will enable us to add 7,000 more annual graduates,” he said, adding, “we're not focused solely on new schools. We're also focused on [increasing enrollment at] existing schools.”

More minority students enrolled as first-year medical students in 2010, with Hispanic male medical students especially increasing their numbers, according to new data released by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

The number of black/African American and American Indian first-year medical students also grew this year, and every U.S. region saw increases in medical school enrollment diversity, said AAMC President and CEO Dr. Darrell Kirch.

“The bottom line is, we see more minority students pursuing a career in medicine,” Dr. Kirch said in a telephone press briefing to announce the findings.

Improved diversity will help communities meet their health needs, especially with the increased need for physicians triggered by the Affordable Care Act, he said. “You don't improve the health of a community without having a workforce that reflects the diversity of that community,” Dr. Kirch said, adding that it's not enough for health care reform to provide insurance if there aren't enough physicians. “An insurance card can't take care of you – you need to have a physician to do that.”

Hispanic men increased their enrollment in medical school by 17.1%, while enrollment by Hispanic women grew by 1.6% over 2009, according to the AAMC report. Total Hispanic enrollment rose by 9%. First-year Hispanic enrollees in U.S. medical schools totaled 1,539 in 2010, compared with 1,412 in 2009, according to AAMC.

Black/African American enrollment, meanwhile, grew by 2.9% over 2009. A total of 1,350 black/African American students enrolled in medical school as first-year students in 2010, compared with 1,312 students in 2009.

Asian students also saw gains, with enrollment increasing 2.4% in 2010 to 4,214 from 4,114 in 2009, according to the AAMC report.

Overall, the level of applicants to U.S. medical schools has remained steady for at least the past 4 years, although the total number of first-time applications increased by 2.5% in 2010, said Dr. Kirch.

“Medical school remains a very compelling career choice,” he said. About 42,000 potential students, including 31,063 first-time applicants, competed for about 18,000 openings, he said.

One new medical school – the Virginia Tech Carilion Medical School – accepted its first class this year, and two more are in line to accept their first classes next year, Dr. Kirch said. Another seven medical schools are in the accreditation process, he said.

“This effort to expand medical school enrollment will enable us to add 7,000 more annual graduates,” he said, adding, “we're not focused solely on new schools. We're also focused on [increasing enrollment at] existing schools.”

More minority students enrolled as first-year medical students in 2010, with Hispanic male medical students especially increasing their numbers, according to new data released by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

The number of black/African American and American Indian first-year medical students also grew this year, and every U.S. region saw increases in medical school enrollment diversity, said AAMC President and CEO Dr. Darrell Kirch.

“The bottom line is, we see more minority students pursuing a career in medicine,” Dr. Kirch said in a telephone press briefing to announce the findings.

Improved diversity will help communities meet their health needs, especially with the increased need for physicians triggered by the Affordable Care Act, he said.

“You don't improve the health of a community without having a workforce that reflects the diversity of that community,” Dr. Kirch said, adding that it's not enough for health care reform to provide insurance if there aren't enough physicians. “An insurance card can't take care of you – you need to have a physician to do that.”

Hispanic men increased their enrollment in medical school by 17%, while enrollment by Hispanic women grew by 1.6% over 2009, according to the AAMC report. Total Hispanic enrollment rose by 9%. First-year Hispanic enrollees in U.S. medical schools totaled 1,539 in 2010, compared with 1,412 in 2009, according to AAMC.

Black/African American enrollment, meanwhile, grew by 2.9% over 2009. A total of 1,350 black/African American students enrolled in medical school as first-year students in 2010, compared with 1,312 students in 2009.

American Indian enrollment remained small, with just 191 first-year students in 2010, according to AAMC. However, that represented a 25% increase over last year's enrollment of 153 students, AAMC said.

Asian students also saw gains, with enrollment increasing 2.4% in 2010 to 4,214 from 4,114 in 2009, according to the AAMC report.

Overall, the level of applicants to U.S. medical schools has remained steady for at least the past 4 years, although the total number of first-time applications increased by 2.5% in 2010, said Dr. Kirch.

“Medical school remains a very compelling career choice,” he said. About 42,000 potential students, including 31,063 first-time applicants, competed for about 18,000 openings, he said.

About 53% of applicants were male and 47% were female; men also outnumbered women first-year enrollees by 53% to 47%, the report showed.

One new medical school – the Virginia Tech Carilion Medical School – accepted its first class this year, and two more are in line to accept their first classes next year, Dr. Kirch said. Another seven medical schools are in the accreditation process, he said.

“This effort to expand medical school enrollment will enable us to add 7,000 more annual graduates,” he said, adding, “we're not focused solely on new schools. We're also focused on [increasing enrollment at] existing schools.”

But increased medical school enrollment won't help the looming shortage of physicians unless the number of residency slots also increases, Dr. Kirch warned. AAMC advocates about a 15% increase in the number of residency slots, he said.

More minority students enrolled as first-year medical students in 2010, with Hispanic male medical students especially increasing their numbers, according to new data released by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

The number of black/African American and American Indian first-year medical students also grew this year, and every U.S. region saw increases in medical school enrollment diversity, said AAMC President and CEO Dr. Darrell Kirch.

“The bottom line is, we see more minority students pursuing a career in medicine,” Dr. Kirch said in a telephone press briefing to announce the findings.

Improved diversity will help communities meet their health needs, especially with the increased need for physicians triggered by the Affordable Care Act, he said.

“You don't improve the health of a community without having a workforce that reflects the diversity of that community,” Dr. Kirch said, adding that it's not enough for health care reform to provide insurance if there aren't enough physicians. “An insurance card can't take care of you – you need to have a physician to do that.”

Hispanic men increased their enrollment in medical school by 17%, while enrollment by Hispanic women grew by 1.6% over 2009, according to the AAMC report. Total Hispanic enrollment rose by 9%. First-year Hispanic enrollees in U.S. medical schools totaled 1,539 in 2010, compared with 1,412 in 2009, according to AAMC.

Black/African American enrollment, meanwhile, grew by 2.9% over 2009. A total of 1,350 black/African American students enrolled in medical school as first-year students in 2010, compared with 1,312 students in 2009.

American Indian enrollment remained small, with just 191 first-year students in 2010, according to AAMC. However, that represented a 25% increase over last year's enrollment of 153 students, AAMC said.

Asian students also saw gains, with enrollment increasing 2.4% in 2010 to 4,214 from 4,114 in 2009, according to the AAMC report.

Overall, the level of applicants to U.S. medical schools has remained steady for at least the past 4 years, although the total number of first-time applications increased by 2.5% in 2010, said Dr. Kirch.

“Medical school remains a very compelling career choice,” he said. About 42,000 potential students, including 31,063 first-time applicants, competed for about 18,000 openings, he said.

About 53% of applicants were male and 47% were female; men also outnumbered women first-year enrollees by 53% to 47%, the report showed.

One new medical school – the Virginia Tech Carilion Medical School – accepted its first class this year, and two more are in line to accept their first classes next year, Dr. Kirch said. Another seven medical schools are in the accreditation process, he said.

“This effort to expand medical school enrollment will enable us to add 7,000 more annual graduates,” he said, adding, “we're not focused solely on new schools. We're also focused on [increasing enrollment at] existing schools.”

But increased medical school enrollment won't help the looming shortage of physicians unless the number of residency slots also increases, Dr. Kirch warned. AAMC advocates about a 15% increase in the number of residency slots, he said.

More minority students enrolled as first-year medical students in 2010, with Hispanic male medical students especially increasing their numbers, according to new data released by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

The number of black/African American and American Indian first-year medical students also grew this year, and every U.S. region saw increases in medical school enrollment diversity, said AAMC President and CEO Dr. Darrell Kirch.

“The bottom line is, we see more minority students pursuing a career in medicine,” Dr. Kirch said in a telephone press briefing to announce the findings.

Improved diversity will help communities meet their health needs, especially with the increased need for physicians triggered by the Affordable Care Act, he said.

“You don't improve the health of a community without having a workforce that reflects the diversity of that community,” Dr. Kirch said, adding that it's not enough for health care reform to provide insurance if there aren't enough physicians. “An insurance card can't take care of you – you need to have a physician to do that.”

Hispanic men increased their enrollment in medical school by 17%, while enrollment by Hispanic women grew by 1.6% over 2009, according to the AAMC report. Total Hispanic enrollment rose by 9%. First-year Hispanic enrollees in U.S. medical schools totaled 1,539 in 2010, compared with 1,412 in 2009, according to AAMC.

Black/African American enrollment, meanwhile, grew by 2.9% over 2009. A total of 1,350 black/African American students enrolled in medical school as first-year students in 2010, compared with 1,312 students in 2009.

American Indian enrollment remained small, with just 191 first-year students in 2010, according to AAMC. However, that represented a 25% increase over last year's enrollment of 153 students, AAMC said.

Asian students also saw gains, with enrollment increasing 2.4% in 2010 to 4,214 from 4,114 in 2009, according to the AAMC report.

Overall, the level of applicants to U.S. medical schools has remained steady for at least the past 4 years, although the total number of first-time applications increased by 2.5% in 2010, said Dr. Kirch.

“Medical school remains a very compelling career choice,” he said. About 42,000 potential students, including 31,063 first-time applicants, competed for about 18,000 openings, he said.

About 53% of applicants were male and 47% were female; men also outnumbered women first-year enrollees by 53% to 47%, the report showed.

One new medical school – the Virginia Tech Carilion Medical School – accepted its first class this year, and two more are in line to accept their first classes next year, Dr. Kirch said. Another seven medical schools are in the accreditation process, he said.

“This effort to expand medical school enrollment will enable us to add 7,000 more annual graduates,” he said, adding, “we're not focused solely on new schools. We're also focused on [increasing enrollment at] existing schools.”

But increased medical school enrollment won't help the looming shortage of physicians unless the number of residency slots also increases, Dr. Kirch warned. AAMC advocates about a 15% increase in the number of residency slots, he said.

Implementing the patient-centered medical home is not enough to improve health care quality – physician education also needs to change, emphasizing team-based approaches to medical care, participants said at a summit to discuss training gaps in primary care, behavioral health care, and health promotion.

The summit, held at The Carter Center in Atlanta Oct. 5–6, examined whether medical students are being trained appropriately to function efficiently and effectively in the newly reformed health care environment.

“Purchasers are actively choosing to buy different kinds of care” because they can't find the types of health care they need in the current system, said Dr. John Bartlett, senior adviser for the Primary Care Initiative at The Carter Center.

IBM, for example, is actively searching out communities that offer patient-centered medical homes, and is moving away from communities where it cannot purchase this type of care, he said.

“Private purchasers are getting tired of paying the price of poor-quality medical education,” Dr. Bartlett told reporters in a conference call convened Oct. 6 to discuss the meeting's conclusions.

Meeting participants identified several key deficits in the U.S. medical education system, according to Dr. Michael Barr, senior vice president for medical practice, professionalism, and quality at the American College of Physicians.

“We train people separately and expect them to work together,” Dr. Barr said. “The current education system doesn't seem to value that type of training environment.”

In many programs, physicians-in-training don't meet actual patients until relatively late in their training, and many curricula don't emphasize the types of mental health issues that primary care physicians will need to practice, he added.

Some medical schools have implemented educational programs worth emulating, although implementing those programs on a large-scale basis might require changes in medical school accreditation requirements and regulatory requirements, Dr. Barr said.

For example, the University of Wisconsin, which uses patients as educators, introduces medical students to patients on their first day in class, Dr. Barr said. This helps to sensitize medical students very early in their careers to issues that will arise in primary care.

Dr. Barr pointed out several changes in medical education that could be implemented relatively quickly:

▸ Providing more training for medical students with nonphysician mental health professionals.

▸ Emphasizing wellness and prevention.

▸ Developing faculty members who can teach within the patient-centered medical home model of care.

Dr. Bartlett added that medical schools also need to focus on ambulatory mental health issues, such as mild to moderate depression, that primary care physicians are most likely to encounter in practice, as opposed to providing only experience on the psychiatric ward.

Implementing the patient-centered medical home is not enough to improve health care quality – physician education also needs to change, emphasizing team-based approaches to medical care, participants said at a summit to discuss training gaps in primary care, behavioral health care, and health promotion.

The summit, held at The Carter Center in Atlanta Oct. 5–6, examined whether medical students are being trained appropriately to function efficiently and effectively in the newly reformed health care environment.

“Purchasers are actively choosing to buy different kinds of care” because they can't find the types of health care they need in the current system, said Dr. John Bartlett, senior adviser for the Primary Care Initiative at The Carter Center.

IBM, for example, is actively searching out communities that offer patient-centered medical homes, and is moving away from communities where it cannot purchase this type of care, he said.

“Private purchasers are getting tired of paying the price of poor-quality medical education,” Dr. Bartlett told reporters in a conference call convened Oct. 6 to discuss the meeting's conclusions.

Meeting participants identified several key deficits in the U.S. medical education system, according to Dr. Michael Barr, senior vice president for medical practice, professionalism, and quality at the American College of Physicians.

“We train people separately and expect them to work together,” Dr. Barr said. “The current education system doesn't seem to value that type of training environment.”

In many programs, physicians-in-training don't meet actual patients until relatively late in their training, and many curricula don't emphasize the types of mental health issues that primary care physicians will need to practice, he added.

Some medical schools have implemented educational programs worth emulating, although implementing those programs on a large-scale basis might require changes in medical school accreditation requirements and regulatory requirements, Dr. Barr said.

For example, the University of Wisconsin, which uses patients as educators, introduces medical students to patients on their first day in class, Dr. Barr said. This helps to sensitize medical students very early in their careers to issues that will arise in primary care.

Dr. Barr pointed out several changes in medical education that could be implemented relatively quickly:

▸ Providing more training for medical students with nonphysician mental health professionals.

▸ Emphasizing wellness and prevention.

▸ Developing faculty members who can teach within the patient-centered medical home model of care.

Dr. Bartlett added that medical schools also need to focus on ambulatory mental health issues, such as mild to moderate depression, that primary care physicians are most likely to encounter in practice, as opposed to providing only experience on the psychiatric ward.

Implementing the patient-centered medical home is not enough to improve health care quality – physician education also needs to change, emphasizing team-based approaches to medical care, participants said at a summit to discuss training gaps in primary care, behavioral health care, and health promotion.

The summit, held at The Carter Center in Atlanta Oct. 5–6, examined whether medical students are being trained appropriately to function efficiently and effectively in the newly reformed health care environment.

“Purchasers are actively choosing to buy different kinds of care” because they can't find the types of health care they need in the current system, said Dr. John Bartlett, senior adviser for the Primary Care Initiative at The Carter Center.

IBM, for example, is actively searching out communities that offer patient-centered medical homes, and is moving away from communities where it cannot purchase this type of care, he said.

“Private purchasers are getting tired of paying the price of poor-quality medical education,” Dr. Bartlett told reporters in a conference call convened Oct. 6 to discuss the meeting's conclusions.

Meeting participants identified several key deficits in the U.S. medical education system, according to Dr. Michael Barr, senior vice president for medical practice, professionalism, and quality at the American College of Physicians.

“We train people separately and expect them to work together,” Dr. Barr said. “The current education system doesn't seem to value that type of training environment.”

In many programs, physicians-in-training don't meet actual patients until relatively late in their training, and many curricula don't emphasize the types of mental health issues that primary care physicians will need to practice, he added.

Some medical schools have implemented educational programs worth emulating, although implementing those programs on a large-scale basis might require changes in medical school accreditation requirements and regulatory requirements, Dr. Barr said.

For example, the University of Wisconsin, which uses patients as educators, introduces medical students to patients on their first day in class, Dr. Barr said. This helps to sensitize medical students very early in their careers to issues that will arise in primary care.

Dr. Barr pointed out several changes in medical education that could be implemented relatively quickly:

▸ Providing more training for medical students with nonphysician mental health professionals.

▸ Emphasizing wellness and prevention.

▸ Developing faculty members who can teach within the patient-centered medical home model of care.

Dr. Bartlett added that medical schools also need to focus on ambulatory mental health issues, such as mild to moderate depression, that primary care physicians are most likely to encounter in practice, as opposed to providing only experience on the psychiatric ward.

Primary care physicians receive the lowest reimbursement of all physician specialties, indicating a need for reforms that would increase incomes or reduce work hours for primary care physicians.

J. Paul Leigh, Ph.D., and colleagues at the University of California, Davis, used data from 6,381 physicians providing patient care in the 2004-2005 Community Tracking Study.

Medical specialties were divided into four categories: primary care; surgery; internal medicine/pediatric subspecialists; and an “other” category with physicians practicing in areas such as radiation oncology, emergency medicine, ophthalmology, and dermatology.

Wages of procedure-oriented specialists were approximately 36%-48% higher than those of primary care physicians, the investigators found.

Specifically, specialties with statistically higher-than-average wages perform neurologic, orthopedic, or ophthalmologic surgery, and use sophisticated technologies or administer expensive drugs in office settings, they found. Lower-paid specialties, meanwhile, were largely nonprocedural and relied instead on talking to and examining patients, they noted, adding that “the major exception is critical-care internal medicine.”

Wages per hour for primary care physicians were about $61, whereas surgeons earned about $90 per hour and other procedure-oriented specialties earned close to $88 per hour, the study said. Internal medicine subspecialists and pediatric subspecialists, meanwhile, earned slightly more than $82 per hour (Arch. Intern. Med. 2010;170:1728-34).

Primary care physicians receive the lowest reimbursement of all physician specialties, indicating a need for reforms that would increase incomes or reduce work hours for primary care physicians.

J. Paul Leigh, Ph.D., and colleagues at the University of California, Davis, used data from 6,381 physicians providing patient care in the 2004-2005 Community Tracking Study.

Medical specialties were divided into four categories: primary care; surgery; internal medicine/pediatric subspecialists; and an “other” category with physicians practicing in areas such as radiation oncology, emergency medicine, ophthalmology, and dermatology.

Wages of procedure-oriented specialists were approximately 36%-48% higher than those of primary care physicians, the investigators found.

Specifically, specialties with statistically higher-than-average wages perform neurologic, orthopedic, or ophthalmologic surgery, and use sophisticated technologies or administer expensive drugs in office settings, they found. Lower-paid specialties, meanwhile, were largely nonprocedural and relied instead on talking to and examining patients, they noted, adding that “the major exception is critical-care internal medicine.”

Wages per hour for primary care physicians were about $61, whereas surgeons earned about $90 per hour and other procedure-oriented specialties earned close to $88 per hour, the study said. Internal medicine subspecialists and pediatric subspecialists, meanwhile, earned slightly more than $82 per hour (Arch. Intern. Med. 2010;170:1728-34).

Primary care physicians receive the lowest reimbursement of all physician specialties, indicating a need for reforms that would increase incomes or reduce work hours for primary care physicians.

J. Paul Leigh, Ph.D., and colleagues at the University of California, Davis, used data from 6,381 physicians providing patient care in the 2004-2005 Community Tracking Study.

Medical specialties were divided into four categories: primary care; surgery; internal medicine/pediatric subspecialists; and an “other” category with physicians practicing in areas such as radiation oncology, emergency medicine, ophthalmology, and dermatology.

Wages of procedure-oriented specialists were approximately 36%-48% higher than those of primary care physicians, the investigators found.

Specifically, specialties with statistically higher-than-average wages perform neurologic, orthopedic, or ophthalmologic surgery, and use sophisticated technologies or administer expensive drugs in office settings, they found. Lower-paid specialties, meanwhile, were largely nonprocedural and relied instead on talking to and examining patients, they noted, adding that “the major exception is critical-care internal medicine.”

Wages per hour for primary care physicians were about $61, whereas surgeons earned about $90 per hour and other procedure-oriented specialties earned close to $88 per hour, the study said. Internal medicine subspecialists and pediatric subspecialists, meanwhile, earned slightly more than $82 per hour (Arch. Intern. Med. 2010;170:1728-34).

All-Terrain Vehicle Injuries Rise

Hospitalizations for children injured in all-terrain vehicles rose 150% during 1997-2006, according to the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. Rates rose most dramatically in the South and Midwest and among teens aged 15-17, according to a Journal of Trauma report. Boys still had the highest rate of injury, but girls aged 15-17 saw a 250% increase in ATV-related hospitalizations. “All-terrain vehicles are inherently dangerous to children,” lead author Stephen Bowman, Ph.D., said in a statement. “While manufacturers are required to label vehicles with engine sizes greater than 90 cc as inappropriate for children younger than 16, our data [suggest] that parents are unaware of these recommendations or are choosing to ignore them.” The researchers chose the 9-year period to probe ATV-related hospitalizations after the 1998 expiration of a consent decree governing ATV sales in which the industry had agreed to reduce the risk of injury by offering free driver training, labeling vehicles with warnings, conducting a nationwide information campaign, and using other measures.

Top Calorie Sources Are Junk Food

More than 40% of total energy consumed by children aged 2-18 years comes from “empty calories” in the form of fat and added sugar, according to National Institutes of Health researchers. Children consume more calories from cookies, cake, pizza, and soda than from other food sources: On average, children got 138 calories each day from grain-based desserts, 136 calories a day from pizza, and 118 calories a day from sugar-sweetened soda. The report, from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, is in the October issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. “The landscape of choices available to children and adolescents must change to provide fewer unhealthy foods and more healthy foods with less energy,” the researchers wrote.

HHS Tries to Ensure Insurance

The Department of Health and Human Services has outlined how states can ensure health coverage for all children despite their health status. Some insurers have stopped offering new child-only policies in what the HHS said is an effort to avoid covering some children with preexisting conditions. In a letter to state insurance commissioners, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that companies may – if state laws allow – charge higher premiums when enrolling already-ill children, limit enrollment to preset periods of the year, and impose surcharges on families who drop child coverage and later reapply for it. However, Ms. Sebelius said that insurers may not enroll healthy children while refusing sick children, according to the promise that insurance companies recently made to the HHS.

HHS Funds Special Needs Centers

The HHS will provide $3.9 million to continue support for Family-to-Family Health Information Centers. The nonprofit centers provide information, education, training, outreach, and peer support among families with special needs children and offer some services to health professionals. “This program is a model for effective collaboration between families and health care professionals,” Health Resources and Services Administrator Mary Wakefield said in a statement. With the funds from the Affordable Care Act, centers in 40 states and the District of Columbia will be able to operate through 2012. Centers in the remaining 10 states received such funding last year.

Costs Prevent Some Kids' Care

About one in six parents surveyed said that it's become more difficult to obtain health care for their children, even though all had public or private health insurance. About 13% of parents said that within the past year, they couldn't comply with at least one recommendation from a health professional because of its cost. About 5% said their children failed to see a recommended specialist or get a lab test, and nearly 9% didn't fill a prescription because they couldn't pay for it. Parents who said they have had increasing difficulty getting needed care for their children were more likely to have private rather than public insurance and to have middle incomes ($15,000-$34,999) rather than higher or lower incomes. The researchers at Wright State University, Xenia, Ohio, reported their findings at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

NIH Funds Resistance Research

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has okayed four new contracts for large clinical trials designed to address the problem of antimicrobial resistance. The trials will evaluate alternatives to antibiotics as treatments for diseases such as acute otitis media, community-acquired pneumonia, and gram-negative bacteria infections, which frequently resist first-line antibiotics. The new trials are part of a two-pronged government approach to antimicrobial research: learning how to protect the usefulness of available drugs while facilitating the development of new antibiotics.

Monitor Market Is Growing

Three companies' sales of continuous blood glucose systems reached close to $200 million in 2009, nearly double their sales of just the year before, according to a market-research firm. In its latest report on the diagnostic-testing industry, Kalorama Information said that the continual-monitoring growth by the companies Medtronic Inc., Dexcom Inc., and Insulet Corp. should continue, given the increasing patient population and the growing popularity of the devices. Fewer than 30% of type 1 diabetes patients in the United States who currently use insulin pumps also have continuous blood glucose monitors, according to the report. Among type 2 U.S. diabetes patients using insulin pumps, fewer than 1 in 100 has a continuous monitor.

Giving Back to the DEA

Americans turned in more than 242,000 pounds of unused or unwanted prescription drugs for disposal as part of the first national prescription drug “Take-Back” campaign, the Drug Enforcement Administration reports. The agency reported a huge turnout of people turning in large quantities of old drugs at more than 4,000 disposal sites being run by law enforcement personnel across the country. “The Take-Back campaign was a stunning nationwide success [and] a crucial step toward reducing the epidemic of prescription drug abuse that is plaguing this nation,” said DEA Acting Administrator Michele Leonhart in the announcement.

All-Terrain Vehicle Injuries Rise

Hospitalizations for children injured in all-terrain vehicles rose 150% during 1997-2006, according to the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. Rates rose most dramatically in the South and Midwest and among teens aged 15-17, according to a Journal of Trauma report. Boys still had the highest rate of injury, but girls aged 15-17 saw a 250% increase in ATV-related hospitalizations. “All-terrain vehicles are inherently dangerous to children,” lead author Stephen Bowman, Ph.D., said in a statement. “While manufacturers are required to label vehicles with engine sizes greater than 90 cc as inappropriate for children younger than 16, our data [suggest] that parents are unaware of these recommendations or are choosing to ignore them.” The researchers chose the 9-year period to probe ATV-related hospitalizations after the 1998 expiration of a consent decree governing ATV sales in which the industry had agreed to reduce the risk of injury by offering free driver training, labeling vehicles with warnings, conducting a nationwide information campaign, and using other measures.

Top Calorie Sources Are Junk Food

More than 40% of total energy consumed by children aged 2-18 years comes from “empty calories” in the form of fat and added sugar, according to National Institutes of Health researchers. Children consume more calories from cookies, cake, pizza, and soda than from other food sources: On average, children got 138 calories each day from grain-based desserts, 136 calories a day from pizza, and 118 calories a day from sugar-sweetened soda. The report, from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, is in the October issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. “The landscape of choices available to children and adolescents must change to provide fewer unhealthy foods and more healthy foods with less energy,” the researchers wrote.

HHS Tries to Ensure Insurance

The Department of Health and Human Services has outlined how states can ensure health coverage for all children despite their health status. Some insurers have stopped offering new child-only policies in what the HHS said is an effort to avoid covering some children with preexisting conditions. In a letter to state insurance commissioners, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that companies may – if state laws allow – charge higher premiums when enrolling already-ill children, limit enrollment to preset periods of the year, and impose surcharges on families who drop child coverage and later reapply for it. However, Ms. Sebelius said that insurers may not enroll healthy children while refusing sick children, according to the promise that insurance companies recently made to the HHS.

HHS Funds Special Needs Centers

The HHS will provide $3.9 million to continue support for Family-to-Family Health Information Centers. The nonprofit centers provide information, education, training, outreach, and peer support among families with special needs children and offer some services to health professionals. “This program is a model for effective collaboration between families and health care professionals,” Health Resources and Services Administrator Mary Wakefield said in a statement. With the funds from the Affordable Care Act, centers in 40 states and the District of Columbia will be able to operate through 2012. Centers in the remaining 10 states received such funding last year.

Costs Prevent Some Kids' Care

About one in six parents surveyed said that it's become more difficult to obtain health care for their children, even though all had public or private health insurance. About 13% of parents said that within the past year, they couldn't comply with at least one recommendation from a health professional because of its cost. About 5% said their children failed to see a recommended specialist or get a lab test, and nearly 9% didn't fill a prescription because they couldn't pay for it. Parents who said they have had increasing difficulty getting needed care for their children were more likely to have private rather than public insurance and to have middle incomes ($15,000-$34,999) rather than higher or lower incomes. The researchers at Wright State University, Xenia, Ohio, reported their findings at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

NIH Funds Resistance Research

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has okayed four new contracts for large clinical trials designed to address the problem of antimicrobial resistance. The trials will evaluate alternatives to antibiotics as treatments for diseases such as acute otitis media, community-acquired pneumonia, and gram-negative bacteria infections, which frequently resist first-line antibiotics. The new trials are part of a two-pronged government approach to antimicrobial research: learning how to protect the usefulness of available drugs while facilitating the development of new antibiotics.

Monitor Market Is Growing

Three companies' sales of continuous blood glucose systems reached close to $200 million in 2009, nearly double their sales of just the year before, according to a market-research firm. In its latest report on the diagnostic-testing industry, Kalorama Information said that the continual-monitoring growth by the companies Medtronic Inc., Dexcom Inc., and Insulet Corp. should continue, given the increasing patient population and the growing popularity of the devices. Fewer than 30% of type 1 diabetes patients in the United States who currently use insulin pumps also have continuous blood glucose monitors, according to the report. Among type 2 U.S. diabetes patients using insulin pumps, fewer than 1 in 100 has a continuous monitor.

Giving Back to the DEA

Americans turned in more than 242,000 pounds of unused or unwanted prescription drugs for disposal as part of the first national prescription drug “Take-Back” campaign, the Drug Enforcement Administration reports. The agency reported a huge turnout of people turning in large quantities of old drugs at more than 4,000 disposal sites being run by law enforcement personnel across the country. “The Take-Back campaign was a stunning nationwide success [and] a crucial step toward reducing the epidemic of prescription drug abuse that is plaguing this nation,” said DEA Acting Administrator Michele Leonhart in the announcement.

All-Terrain Vehicle Injuries Rise

Hospitalizations for children injured in all-terrain vehicles rose 150% during 1997-2006, according to the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. Rates rose most dramatically in the South and Midwest and among teens aged 15-17, according to a Journal of Trauma report. Boys still had the highest rate of injury, but girls aged 15-17 saw a 250% increase in ATV-related hospitalizations. “All-terrain vehicles are inherently dangerous to children,” lead author Stephen Bowman, Ph.D., said in a statement. “While manufacturers are required to label vehicles with engine sizes greater than 90 cc as inappropriate for children younger than 16, our data [suggest] that parents are unaware of these recommendations or are choosing to ignore them.” The researchers chose the 9-year period to probe ATV-related hospitalizations after the 1998 expiration of a consent decree governing ATV sales in which the industry had agreed to reduce the risk of injury by offering free driver training, labeling vehicles with warnings, conducting a nationwide information campaign, and using other measures.

Top Calorie Sources Are Junk Food

More than 40% of total energy consumed by children aged 2-18 years comes from “empty calories” in the form of fat and added sugar, according to National Institutes of Health researchers. Children consume more calories from cookies, cake, pizza, and soda than from other food sources: On average, children got 138 calories each day from grain-based desserts, 136 calories a day from pizza, and 118 calories a day from sugar-sweetened soda. The report, from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, is in the October issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. “The landscape of choices available to children and adolescents must change to provide fewer unhealthy foods and more healthy foods with less energy,” the researchers wrote.

HHS Tries to Ensure Insurance

The Department of Health and Human Services has outlined how states can ensure health coverage for all children despite their health status. Some insurers have stopped offering new child-only policies in what the HHS said is an effort to avoid covering some children with preexisting conditions. In a letter to state insurance commissioners, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that companies may – if state laws allow – charge higher premiums when enrolling already-ill children, limit enrollment to preset periods of the year, and impose surcharges on families who drop child coverage and later reapply for it. However, Ms. Sebelius said that insurers may not enroll healthy children while refusing sick children, according to the promise that insurance companies recently made to the HHS.

HHS Funds Special Needs Centers

The HHS will provide $3.9 million to continue support for Family-to-Family Health Information Centers. The nonprofit centers provide information, education, training, outreach, and peer support among families with special needs children and offer some services to health professionals. “This program is a model for effective collaboration between families and health care professionals,” Health Resources and Services Administrator Mary Wakefield said in a statement. With the funds from the Affordable Care Act, centers in 40 states and the District of Columbia will be able to operate through 2012. Centers in the remaining 10 states received such funding last year.

Costs Prevent Some Kids' Care

About one in six parents surveyed said that it's become more difficult to obtain health care for their children, even though all had public or private health insurance. About 13% of parents said that within the past year, they couldn't comply with at least one recommendation from a health professional because of its cost. About 5% said their children failed to see a recommended specialist or get a lab test, and nearly 9% didn't fill a prescription because they couldn't pay for it. Parents who said they have had increasing difficulty getting needed care for their children were more likely to have private rather than public insurance and to have middle incomes ($15,000-$34,999) rather than higher or lower incomes. The researchers at Wright State University, Xenia, Ohio, reported their findings at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

NIH Funds Resistance Research

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has okayed four new contracts for large clinical trials designed to address the problem of antimicrobial resistance. The trials will evaluate alternatives to antibiotics as treatments for diseases such as acute otitis media, community-acquired pneumonia, and gram-negative bacteria infections, which frequently resist first-line antibiotics. The new trials are part of a two-pronged government approach to antimicrobial research: learning how to protect the usefulness of available drugs while facilitating the development of new antibiotics.

Monitor Market Is Growing

Three companies' sales of continuous blood glucose systems reached close to $200 million in 2009, nearly double their sales of just the year before, according to a market-research firm. In its latest report on the diagnostic-testing industry, Kalorama Information said that the continual-monitoring growth by the companies Medtronic Inc., Dexcom Inc., and Insulet Corp. should continue, given the increasing patient population and the growing popularity of the devices. Fewer than 30% of type 1 diabetes patients in the United States who currently use insulin pumps also have continuous blood glucose monitors, according to the report. Among type 2 U.S. diabetes patients using insulin pumps, fewer than 1 in 100 has a continuous monitor.

Giving Back to the DEA

Americans turned in more than 242,000 pounds of unused or unwanted prescription drugs for disposal as part of the first national prescription drug “Take-Back” campaign, the Drug Enforcement Administration reports. The agency reported a huge turnout of people turning in large quantities of old drugs at more than 4,000 disposal sites being run by law enforcement personnel across the country. “The Take-Back campaign was a stunning nationwide success [and] a crucial step toward reducing the epidemic of prescription drug abuse that is plaguing this nation,” said DEA Acting Administrator Michele Leonhart in the announcement.

Fifteen researchers, clinicians, advocates, and breast cancer survivors have been named to a new advisory committee charged with developing initiatives to increase knowledge of breast health and breast cancer among women under age 40 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Oct. 14.

The Advisory Committee on Breast Cancer in Young Women was mandated by the Affordable Care Act enacted earlier this year, and will target its initiatives toward women at heightened risk for developing the disease, according to the CDC.

Committee members will assist the CDC in developing evidence-based approaches to advance breast cancer awareness among younger women, Director Thomas Frieden said in a statement.

Dr. Ann Partridge, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and clinical director of the Breast Oncology Center at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, will chair the panel.

Dr. Partridge founded and directs the Program for Young Women with Breast Cancer at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center. The program addresses the unique needs of women in their early 40s and younger who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Fifteen researchers, clinicians, advocates, and breast cancer survivors have been named to a new advisory committee charged with developing initiatives to increase knowledge of breast health and breast cancer among women under age 40 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Oct. 14.

The Advisory Committee on Breast Cancer in Young Women was mandated by the Affordable Care Act enacted earlier this year, and will target its initiatives toward women at heightened risk for developing the disease, according to the CDC.

Committee members will assist the CDC in developing evidence-based approaches to advance breast cancer awareness among younger women, Director Thomas Frieden said in a statement.

Dr. Ann Partridge, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and clinical director of the Breast Oncology Center at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, will chair the panel.

Dr. Partridge founded and directs the Program for Young Women with Breast Cancer at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center. The program addresses the unique needs of women in their early 40s and younger who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Fifteen researchers, clinicians, advocates, and breast cancer survivors have been named to a new advisory committee charged with developing initiatives to increase knowledge of breast health and breast cancer among women under age 40 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Oct. 14.

The Advisory Committee on Breast Cancer in Young Women was mandated by the Affordable Care Act enacted earlier this year, and will target its initiatives toward women at heightened risk for developing the disease, according to the CDC.

Committee members will assist the CDC in developing evidence-based approaches to advance breast cancer awareness among younger women, Director Thomas Frieden said in a statement.

Dr. Ann Partridge, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and clinical director of the Breast Oncology Center at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, will chair the panel.

Dr. Partridge founded and directs the Program for Young Women with Breast Cancer at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center. The program addresses the unique needs of women in their early 40s and younger who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Productivity, Ownership Linked

Billable work per patient appears to be increasing only at physician groups under the “private practice model,” but expenses have also grown, according to a Medical Group Management Association study. Over the past 5 years, relative value units per patient rose by 13% at private medical practices but declined nearly 18% at practices owned by hospitals or integrated delivery systems, analysts found. Meanwhile, operating costs for private practices increased by nearly 2% last year, in contrast to a slight decline for practices owned by the larger entities. MGMA attributed part of the increase in expenses for private practices to the cost of implementing electronic health record systems. “In the private practice model, EHR incentives have provided a catalyst for practices to purchase systems and deploy electronic health records, therefore increasing the practice's information technology expenditures,” said Kenneth Hertz, a principal with MGMA Health Care Consulting Group, in a statement.

California Limits CT Radiation

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has signed a bill that limits the radiation dose provided in computed tomography scans. The new law comes in the wake of patients at at least six California hospitals having received up to eight times the normal radiation from their CT scans. Beginning in 2012, technicians must record the radiation dose from every scan, and radiology reports must include that information. Each year, a medical physicist will be required to confirm each CT machine's readings. Beginning in 2013, medical imaging facilities need to report to the state any medical injury from CT radiation and any instance in which certain doses have been exceeded.

Hospital Care Is Improving

Hospitals have improved their care for heart attack victims, pneumonia and surgery patients, and children who have asthma, according to the Joint Commission. The group's annual report shows 8 years of continuous improvement on measures that produce the greatest positive impact on patient outcomes, according to the commission's report. For example, in 2009, hospitals provided evidence-based heart attack treatments such as aspirin at arrival and beta-blockers at discharge in 98% of encounters with the appropriate patients, up from 89% in 2002. Pneumonia patients in 2009 received evidence-based treatments about 93% of the time, compared with 72% in 2002. However, hospitals need to improve performance on two measures: providing fibrinolytic therapy to heart attack patients within 30 minutes of arrival and giving antibiotics to pneumonia patients in intensive care units within 24 hours, the Joint Commission said.

Giving Back to the DEA

Americans turned in more than 242,000 pounds of unused or unwanted prescription drugs for disposal as part of the first national prescription drug “Take-Back” campaign, the Drug Enforcement Administration said. The agency reported a huge turnout of people turning in large quantities of old drugs at more than 4,000 disposal sites being run by law enforcement personnel around the country. For example, at one site a woman turned in nearly 50 years' worth of medications for disposal, while at another site a man brought in his kitchen drawer, full of medications, to dump, a DEA announcement said. “The Take-Back campaign was a stunning nationwide success [and] a crucial step toward reducing the epidemic of prescription drug abuse that is plaguing this nation,” said DEA Acting Administrator Michele Leonhart in the announcement.

Reform Yields New Training Slots

Nearly 900 additional primary care physicians will be trained through $167 million in new federal grants funded by the Affordable Care Act, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. The 5-year grants will go to 82 accredited training programs to increase the number of residents in general internal medicine, family practice, and general pediatrics. By 2015, about 500 more residents will have completed their training than would have done so under past funding, and more will still be in the pipeline, HHS said. Additional grants will expand training for physician assistants and nurses, and will help low-income individuals enter and advance in health sector careers.

Nursing Report Spurs Controversy

Nurses' roles and responsibilities should change significantly to meet the increased demand for care created by health care reform, according to an Institute of Medicine report that immediately drew criticism from the American Medical Association. The report urged removal of regulatory and institutional obstacles to nurses taking on additional patient-care duties. To handle these new responsibilities, nurses should receive higher levels of training through an improved education system, including a new residency program and additional opportunities for lifelong learning, the institute report said. The AMA took issue with the report's call to expand nurses' scope of practice, saying that nurse practitioners don't have nearly the amount of training and clinical experience that doctors do. “With a shortage of both nurses and physicians, increasing the responsibility of nurses is not the answer to the physician shortage,” said AMA board member Dr. Rebecca J. Patchin in a statement.

Productivity, Ownership Linked

Billable work per patient appears to be increasing only at physician groups under the “private practice model,” but expenses have also grown, according to a Medical Group Management Association study. Over the past 5 years, relative value units per patient rose by 13% at private medical practices but declined nearly 18% at practices owned by hospitals or integrated delivery systems, analysts found. Meanwhile, operating costs for private practices increased by nearly 2% last year, in contrast to a slight decline for practices owned by the larger entities. MGMA attributed part of the increase in expenses for private practices to the cost of implementing electronic health record systems. “In the private practice model, EHR incentives have provided a catalyst for practices to purchase systems and deploy electronic health records, therefore increasing the practice's information technology expenditures,” said Kenneth Hertz, a principal with MGMA Health Care Consulting Group, in a statement.

California Limits CT Radiation

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has signed a bill that limits the radiation dose provided in computed tomography scans. The new law comes in the wake of patients at at least six California hospitals having received up to eight times the normal radiation from their CT scans. Beginning in 2012, technicians must record the radiation dose from every scan, and radiology reports must include that information. Each year, a medical physicist will be required to confirm each CT machine's readings. Beginning in 2013, medical imaging facilities need to report to the state any medical injury from CT radiation and any instance in which certain doses have been exceeded.

Hospital Care Is Improving

Hospitals have improved their care for heart attack victims, pneumonia and surgery patients, and children who have asthma, according to the Joint Commission. The group's annual report shows 8 years of continuous improvement on measures that produce the greatest positive impact on patient outcomes, according to the commission's report. For example, in 2009, hospitals provided evidence-based heart attack treatments such as aspirin at arrival and beta-blockers at discharge in 98% of encounters with the appropriate patients, up from 89% in 2002. Pneumonia patients in 2009 received evidence-based treatments about 93% of the time, compared with 72% in 2002. However, hospitals need to improve performance on two measures: providing fibrinolytic therapy to heart attack patients within 30 minutes of arrival and giving antibiotics to pneumonia patients in intensive care units within 24 hours, the Joint Commission said.

Giving Back to the DEA

Americans turned in more than 242,000 pounds of unused or unwanted prescription drugs for disposal as part of the first national prescription drug “Take-Back” campaign, the Drug Enforcement Administration said. The agency reported a huge turnout of people turning in large quantities of old drugs at more than 4,000 disposal sites being run by law enforcement personnel around the country. For example, at one site a woman turned in nearly 50 years' worth of medications for disposal, while at another site a man brought in his kitchen drawer, full of medications, to dump, a DEA announcement said. “The Take-Back campaign was a stunning nationwide success [and] a crucial step toward reducing the epidemic of prescription drug abuse that is plaguing this nation,” said DEA Acting Administrator Michele Leonhart in the announcement.

Reform Yields New Training Slots

Nearly 900 additional primary care physicians will be trained through $167 million in new federal grants funded by the Affordable Care Act, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. The 5-year grants will go to 82 accredited training programs to increase the number of residents in general internal medicine, family practice, and general pediatrics. By 2015, about 500 more residents will have completed their training than would have done so under past funding, and more will still be in the pipeline, HHS said. Additional grants will expand training for physician assistants and nurses, and will help low-income individuals enter and advance in health sector careers.

Nursing Report Spurs Controversy

Nurses' roles and responsibilities should change significantly to meet the increased demand for care created by health care reform, according to an Institute of Medicine report that immediately drew criticism from the American Medical Association. The report urged removal of regulatory and institutional obstacles to nurses taking on additional patient-care duties. To handle these new responsibilities, nurses should receive higher levels of training through an improved education system, including a new residency program and additional opportunities for lifelong learning, the institute report said. The AMA took issue with the report's call to expand nurses' scope of practice, saying that nurse practitioners don't have nearly the amount of training and clinical experience that doctors do. “With a shortage of both nurses and physicians, increasing the responsibility of nurses is not the answer to the physician shortage,” said AMA board member Dr. Rebecca J. Patchin in a statement.

Productivity, Ownership Linked

Billable work per patient appears to be increasing only at physician groups under the “private practice model,” but expenses have also grown, according to a Medical Group Management Association study. Over the past 5 years, relative value units per patient rose by 13% at private medical practices but declined nearly 18% at practices owned by hospitals or integrated delivery systems, analysts found. Meanwhile, operating costs for private practices increased by nearly 2% last year, in contrast to a slight decline for practices owned by the larger entities. MGMA attributed part of the increase in expenses for private practices to the cost of implementing electronic health record systems. “In the private practice model, EHR incentives have provided a catalyst for practices to purchase systems and deploy electronic health records, therefore increasing the practice's information technology expenditures,” said Kenneth Hertz, a principal with MGMA Health Care Consulting Group, in a statement.

California Limits CT Radiation

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has signed a bill that limits the radiation dose provided in computed tomography scans. The new law comes in the wake of patients at at least six California hospitals having received up to eight times the normal radiation from their CT scans. Beginning in 2012, technicians must record the radiation dose from every scan, and radiology reports must include that information. Each year, a medical physicist will be required to confirm each CT machine's readings. Beginning in 2013, medical imaging facilities need to report to the state any medical injury from CT radiation and any instance in which certain doses have been exceeded.

Hospital Care Is Improving

Hospitals have improved their care for heart attack victims, pneumonia and surgery patients, and children who have asthma, according to the Joint Commission. The group's annual report shows 8 years of continuous improvement on measures that produce the greatest positive impact on patient outcomes, according to the commission's report. For example, in 2009, hospitals provided evidence-based heart attack treatments such as aspirin at arrival and beta-blockers at discharge in 98% of encounters with the appropriate patients, up from 89% in 2002. Pneumonia patients in 2009 received evidence-based treatments about 93% of the time, compared with 72% in 2002. However, hospitals need to improve performance on two measures: providing fibrinolytic therapy to heart attack patients within 30 minutes of arrival and giving antibiotics to pneumonia patients in intensive care units within 24 hours, the Joint Commission said.

Giving Back to the DEA

Americans turned in more than 242,000 pounds of unused or unwanted prescription drugs for disposal as part of the first national prescription drug “Take-Back” campaign, the Drug Enforcement Administration said. The agency reported a huge turnout of people turning in large quantities of old drugs at more than 4,000 disposal sites being run by law enforcement personnel around the country. For example, at one site a woman turned in nearly 50 years' worth of medications for disposal, while at another site a man brought in his kitchen drawer, full of medications, to dump, a DEA announcement said. “The Take-Back campaign was a stunning nationwide success [and] a crucial step toward reducing the epidemic of prescription drug abuse that is plaguing this nation,” said DEA Acting Administrator Michele Leonhart in the announcement.

Reform Yields New Training Slots

Nearly 900 additional primary care physicians will be trained through $167 million in new federal grants funded by the Affordable Care Act, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. The 5-year grants will go to 82 accredited training programs to increase the number of residents in general internal medicine, family practice, and general pediatrics. By 2015, about 500 more residents will have completed their training than would have done so under past funding, and more will still be in the pipeline, HHS said. Additional grants will expand training for physician assistants and nurses, and will help low-income individuals enter and advance in health sector careers.

Nursing Report Spurs Controversy

Nurses' roles and responsibilities should change significantly to meet the increased demand for care created by health care reform, according to an Institute of Medicine report that immediately drew criticism from the American Medical Association. The report urged removal of regulatory and institutional obstacles to nurses taking on additional patient-care duties. To handle these new responsibilities, nurses should receive higher levels of training through an improved education system, including a new residency program and additional opportunities for lifelong learning, the institute report said. The AMA took issue with the report's call to expand nurses' scope of practice, saying that nurse practitioners don't have nearly the amount of training and clinical experience that doctors do. “With a shortage of both nurses and physicians, increasing the responsibility of nurses is not the answer to the physician shortage,” said AMA board member Dr. Rebecca J. Patchin in a statement.

More minority students enrolled as first-year medical students in 2010, with Hispanic male medical students especially increasing their numbers, according to new data released Oct. 13 by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

The number of black/African American and American Indian first-year medical students also grew this year, and every U.S. region saw increases in medical school enrollment diversity, said AAMC President and CEO Dr. Darrell Kirch.

“The bottom line is, we see more minority students pursuing a career in medicine,” Dr. Kirch said in a telephone press briefing to announce the findings.

Improved diversity will help communities meet their health needs, especially with the increased need for physicians triggered by the Affordable Care Act, he said.

“You don't improve the health of a community without having a workforce that reflects the diversity of that community,” Dr. Kirch said, adding that it's not enough for health care reform to provide insurance if there aren't enough physicians. “An insurance card can't take care of you – you need to have a physician to do that.”

Hispanic men increased their enrollment in medical school by 17.1%, while enrollment by Hispanic women grew by 1.6% over 2009, according to the AAMC report. Total Hispanic enrollment rose by 9%. First-year Hispanic enrollees in U.S. medical schools totaled 1,539 in 2010, compared with 1,412 in 2009, according to AAMC.

Black/African American enrollment, meanwhile, grew by 2.9% over 2009. A total of 1,350 black/African American students enrolled in medical school as first-year students in 2010, compared with 1,312 students in 2009.

American Indian enrollment remained small, with just 191 first-year students in 2010, according to AAMC. However, that represented a 25% increase over last year's enrollment of 153 students, AAMC said.

Asian students also saw gains, with enrollment increasing 2.4% in 2010 to 4,214 from 4,114 in 2009, according to the AAMC report.

Overall, the level of applicants to U.S. medical schools has remained steady for at least the past 4 years, although the total number of first-time applications increased by 2.5% in 2010, said Dr. Kirch.

“Medical school remains a very compelling career choice,” he said. About 42,000 potential students, including 31,063 first-time applicants, competed for about 18,000 openings, he said.

About 53% of applicants were male and 47% were female; men also outnumbered women first-year enrollees by 53% to 47%, the report showed.

One new medical school – the Virginia Tech Carilion Medical School – accepted its first class this year, and two more are in line to accept their first classes next year, Dr. Kirch said. Another seven medical schools are in the accreditation process, he said.

“This effort to expand medical school enrollment will enable us to add 7,000 more annual graduates,” he said, adding, “we're not focused solely on new schools. We're also focused on [increasing enrollment at] existing schools.”

But increased medical school enrollment won't help the looming shortage of physicians unless the number of residency slots also increases, Dr. Kirch warned.

AAMC advocates about a 15% increase in the number of residency slots, he said.

More minority students enrolled as first-year medical students in 2010, with Hispanic male medical students especially increasing their numbers, according to new data released Oct. 13 by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

The number of black/African American and American Indian first-year medical students also grew this year, and every U.S. region saw increases in medical school enrollment diversity, said AAMC President and CEO Dr. Darrell Kirch.

“The bottom line is, we see more minority students pursuing a career in medicine,” Dr. Kirch said in a telephone press briefing to announce the findings.

Improved diversity will help communities meet their health needs, especially with the increased need for physicians triggered by the Affordable Care Act, he said.

“You don't improve the health of a community without having a workforce that reflects the diversity of that community,” Dr. Kirch said, adding that it's not enough for health care reform to provide insurance if there aren't enough physicians. “An insurance card can't take care of you – you need to have a physician to do that.”

Hispanic men increased their enrollment in medical school by 17.1%, while enrollment by Hispanic women grew by 1.6% over 2009, according to the AAMC report. Total Hispanic enrollment rose by 9%. First-year Hispanic enrollees in U.S. medical schools totaled 1,539 in 2010, compared with 1,412 in 2009, according to AAMC.

Black/African American enrollment, meanwhile, grew by 2.9% over 2009. A total of 1,350 black/African American students enrolled in medical school as first-year students in 2010, compared with 1,312 students in 2009.

American Indian enrollment remained small, with just 191 first-year students in 2010, according to AAMC. However, that represented a 25% increase over last year's enrollment of 153 students, AAMC said.

Asian students also saw gains, with enrollment increasing 2.4% in 2010 to 4,214 from 4,114 in 2009, according to the AAMC report.

Overall, the level of applicants to U.S. medical schools has remained steady for at least the past 4 years, although the total number of first-time applications increased by 2.5% in 2010, said Dr. Kirch.

“Medical school remains a very compelling career choice,” he said. About 42,000 potential students, including 31,063 first-time applicants, competed for about 18,000 openings, he said.

About 53% of applicants were male and 47% were female; men also outnumbered women first-year enrollees by 53% to 47%, the report showed.

One new medical school – the Virginia Tech Carilion Medical School – accepted its first class this year, and two more are in line to accept their first classes next year, Dr. Kirch said. Another seven medical schools are in the accreditation process, he said.

“This effort to expand medical school enrollment will enable us to add 7,000 more annual graduates,” he said, adding, “we're not focused solely on new schools. We're also focused on [increasing enrollment at] existing schools.”

But increased medical school enrollment won't help the looming shortage of physicians unless the number of residency slots also increases, Dr. Kirch warned.

AAMC advocates about a 15% increase in the number of residency slots, he said.

More minority students enrolled as first-year medical students in 2010, with Hispanic male medical students especially increasing their numbers, according to new data released Oct. 13 by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

The number of black/African American and American Indian first-year medical students also grew this year, and every U.S. region saw increases in medical school enrollment diversity, said AAMC President and CEO Dr. Darrell Kirch.

“The bottom line is, we see more minority students pursuing a career in medicine,” Dr. Kirch said in a telephone press briefing to announce the findings.

Improved diversity will help communities meet their health needs, especially with the increased need for physicians triggered by the Affordable Care Act, he said.

“You don't improve the health of a community without having a workforce that reflects the diversity of that community,” Dr. Kirch said, adding that it's not enough for health care reform to provide insurance if there aren't enough physicians. “An insurance card can't take care of you – you need to have a physician to do that.”

Hispanic men increased their enrollment in medical school by 17.1%, while enrollment by Hispanic women grew by 1.6% over 2009, according to the AAMC report. Total Hispanic enrollment rose by 9%. First-year Hispanic enrollees in U.S. medical schools totaled 1,539 in 2010, compared with 1,412 in 2009, according to AAMC.

Black/African American enrollment, meanwhile, grew by 2.9% over 2009. A total of 1,350 black/African American students enrolled in medical school as first-year students in 2010, compared with 1,312 students in 2009.

American Indian enrollment remained small, with just 191 first-year students in 2010, according to AAMC. However, that represented a 25% increase over last year's enrollment of 153 students, AAMC said.

Asian students also saw gains, with enrollment increasing 2.4% in 2010 to 4,214 from 4,114 in 2009, according to the AAMC report.

Overall, the level of applicants to U.S. medical schools has remained steady for at least the past 4 years, although the total number of first-time applications increased by 2.5% in 2010, said Dr. Kirch.

“Medical school remains a very compelling career choice,” he said. About 42,000 potential students, including 31,063 first-time applicants, competed for about 18,000 openings, he said.

About 53% of applicants were male and 47% were female; men also outnumbered women first-year enrollees by 53% to 47%, the report showed.

One new medical school – the Virginia Tech Carilion Medical School – accepted its first class this year, and two more are in line to accept their first classes next year, Dr. Kirch said. Another seven medical schools are in the accreditation process, he said.

“This effort to expand medical school enrollment will enable us to add 7,000 more annual graduates,” he said, adding, “we're not focused solely on new schools. We're also focused on [increasing enrollment at] existing schools.”

But increased medical school enrollment won't help the looming shortage of physicians unless the number of residency slots also increases, Dr. Kirch warned.

AAMC advocates about a 15% increase in the number of residency slots, he said.