Getting doctors into the bush: general practitioners' preferences for rural location
Anthony Scott1, Julia Witt, John Humphreys
1Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia.
Social Science & Medicine (1982)
|September 17, 2013
Summary
General practitioners (GPs) require significant financial incentives, ranging from 37% to 130% of their annual earnings, to relocate to rural areas. These incentives must be tailored to specific job and location characteristics to be effective.
Area of Science:
- Health Economics
- Medical Workforce Distribution
- Rural Health Policy
Background:
- Geographic maldistribution of doctors impacts healthcare access and costs.
- Existing government incentive schemes for rural practice lack robust evidence of effectiveness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine general practitioners' (GPs) preferences for rural practice locations.
- To estimate the financial incentives required for GPs to move to rural areas.
- To inform the design of effective rural doctor incentive schemes.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a discrete choice experiment within the Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life (MABEL) longitudinal survey.
- Surveyed 3727 GPs, presenting them with job options to assess relocation preferences.
- Analyzed choices to estimate probabilities of moving and required financial incentives.
Main Results:
- 65% of GPs preferred to remain in their current locations.
- Relocation to small inland towns (<5000 population) requires incentives of ~64% of current earnings ($116,000).
- Relocation to larger rural towns (5000-20,000 population) requires incentives of ~37% of current earnings ($68,000).
- The least attractive rural job packages necessitate incentives up to 130% of annual earnings (~$237,000).
Conclusions:
- Significant financial incentives are necessary to attract GPs to rural practice.
- Incentive package design must consider both the characteristics of rural areas and specific job attributes.
- Tailored incentive strategies are crucial for addressing rural doctor shortages effectively.
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