Primary care in Minnesota: an academic health center's perspective

Although Minnesota's overall supply of primary care physicians is as good as or better than that of many other states, Minnesotans in some rural and urban communities do not have ready access to primary care. Simply training more doctors using the current model is not a viable solution to this problem. In order to increase the supply of primary care physicians, the state, its educational institutions, and its health care provider organizations will need to develop new educational opportunities, explore new models of care, and create viable systems for health care delivery for all Minnesotans. This article describes the current status of primary care in the state and ideas for addressing anticipated workforce shortages and enhancin the vitality of primary care.