Do international medical graduates' recruitment policies help to overcome healthcare shortage areas in developed countries? A systematic review

Loup Beduchaud, Enoa Celingant, Clara Faure, Mathilda Meunier and Iñaki Blanco-Cazeaux ()
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Iñaki Blanco-Cazeaux: BPH - Bordeaux population health - UB - Université de Bordeaux - Institut de Santé Publique, d'Épidémiologie et de Développement (ISPED) - INSERM - Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale

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Abstract: This review investigates the effectiveness of utilizing foreign physicians or International Medical Graduates to alleviate medical shortages in rural and underserved areas of developed countries. Conducted in February 2024, this systematic review follows PRISMA 2020 guidelines, analysing 15 English-language studies from the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The focus is on comparing physicians with international graduation to national graduates in rural and underserved contexts. Results reveal diverse trends across countries: in the United States, national graduates are generally more represented in rural areas, while foreign physicians are more prevalent in Health Professional Shortage Areas. In Canada, foreign graduates are more common in rural areas, varying by province. Australia and New Zealand show foreign physicians practicing more in rural areas than national counterparts. This study underscores significant reliance on foreign physicians to mitigate rural healthcare disparities. While this strategy partially addresses immediate shortages, long-term effectiveness is uncertain due to retention and integration challenges. Future policies should focus on sustainable solutions for equitable healthcare access and physicians' retention in underserved areas. This review emphasizes also the need for Europe-specific studies and further evaluation of policy effectiveness.

Keywords: Systematic review; Medical shortage area; International medical graduate; Health policy; Healthcare access inequalities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-10-28
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Published in Health Policy, 2024, 150 (December 20024), ⟨10.1016/j.healthpol.2024.105190⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04756497

DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2024.105190

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