The Idaho State Board of Education hailed a report on medical education in Idaho as a good start at its Thursday meeting in Pocatello.

But a presentation by MGT of America Inc., the company behind the study commissioned by the state Legislature, also highlighted the need for more research into a number of related areas, board spokesman Mark Browning said on Friday.

The 113-page study, which looked at the state's current physician shortage and evaluated several possible solutions, did touch on the programs and degrees put out by the state's three large universities, Browning said. But the state, he said, needs to build off of the study and evaluate its existing assets before acting on any of the recommendations in the report.

"There's a real need to look at what we have that could be used in future programs," Browning said.

The report, which will now make its way to the Legislature, confirms what health care professionals in Idaho say they've known all along: The state is falling behind in its supply of trained physicians.

The state is one of the fastest-growing in the nation, Browning said, and already on average only has one physician for every 1,000 people. It consistently ranks among the lowest in terms of the number of medical school seats per 100,000 people in three different regional combinations, the study shows.

"We're not keeping up with demand for physicians in that aspect of health care," he said. "There is definitely a need there that the state's going to have to take an aggressive position on."

And the board isn't the only group saying that. Susie Pouliot, CEO of the Idaho Medical Association, said the group's education affairs committee and board of trustees both reviewed the study and supported it as a "credible and quality" report.

Of four different remedies evaluated in the report, the board has thrown its weight behind increasing the number of residency programs in the state for graduate-level candidates and increasing the number of spots available in out-of-state medical schools, she said. It more cautiously supported looking further into the idea of a new medical school in the state, whether created on its own or as a joint venture among Idaho State University, Boise State University and the University of Idaho.

"Expanding medical school seats are probably the quickest, most efficient way to get students in the pipeline," Pouliot said. "This will be the most expedient way to start to address the problem."

It would definitely be a cheaper alternative to creating a medical school. But state Rep. Sharon Block, R-Twin Falls, said she wasn't sure how much of a priority cost will be when the Legislature reviews the results.

Block, who sits on the House Education Committee and serves as chairwoman of the House Health and Welfare Committee, said she was impressed by the retention rates for students sent to the out-of-state schools and to the in-state residencies.

"That certainly would affect our workforce issues," she said.

Nate Poppino can be reached at 735-3237 or npoppino@magicvalley.com.


Click here to read the Medical Education Study about Idaho's physician shortage