Document Type
Article
Abstract
Insufficient healthcare access has been a principal concern for policymakers and health care providers. And yet, fewer Americans in 2015 had a primary care provider than in 2002. Worsening healthcare access presents an immediate problem and warrants a prompt solution. One potential solution to this problem involves integrating more International Medical Graduates (IMGs) into the medical workforce. In this investigation, we evaluated the effect of (1) IMG trainees (residents and fellows) and (2) all IMGs (including trainees) on mortality rates. We found no evidence that the addition of IMG trainees affects mortality rates, both in the aggregate and across different genders and most of the races of patients. Our study did show an increased mortality rate for Black patients. In contrast to the effect with only IMG trainees, we found strong evidence that the addition of IMGs is associated with a decrease in the mortality rate.
Ultimately, these findings suggest that post-residency and fellowship IMGs could solve the American healthcare crisis, but more research is needed on the effect of IMGs on patient outcomes during their residency and fellowship period.
Publication Date
July 2021
Journal Title
Proceedings of the Jepson Undergraduate Conference on International Economics
Volume
3
Issue
1
Copyright
©2021 by Proceedings of the Jepson Undergraduate Conference on International Economics
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Lal, Neel
(2021)
"International Medical Graduates and Health Outcomes: A Way Out or A Grave Mistake,"
Proceedings of the Jepson Undergraduate Conference on International Economics: Vol. 3, Article 2.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/jucie/vol3/iss1/2