Like much of the nation, Michigan is suffering from a serious medical provider shortage, and experts say it is only going to get worse. According to the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, the state is projected to have a shortage of at least 800 primary care doctors by 2030.
For patients, doctor shortages can result in an array of health care issues: longer wait times for appointments; less time with the physician once they’re in the room; longer time until a chronic or immediate health issue can be addressed; and a lack of coordination between a primary care provider and a specialist.
In an interview with the Detroit Free Press in 2023, Dr. Jean H.C. Wong, a family medicine physician at Ypsilanti Family Medicine in Ypsilanti and the director of the family medicine residency program at the University of Michigan Medical School, explained, “When it comes to family medicine, specifically, 1 in 8 medical students enter family medicine residencies every year, but the ratio needs to increase to 1 in 4 in order to help stop the primary care doctor shortage.”…