Abstract
BackgroundPhysician 'brain drain' negatively impacts health care delivery. Interventions to address physician emigration have been constrained by lack of research on systematic factors that influence physician migration. We examined the relationship between the quality of medical training and rate of migration to the United States and the United Kingdom among Indian medical graduates (1955–2002).MethodsWe calculated the fraction of medical graduates who emigrated to the United States and the United Kingdom, based on rankings of medical colleges and universities according to three indicators of the quality of medical education (a) student choice, (b) academic publications, and (c) the availability of specialty medical training.ResultsPhysicians from the top quintile medical colleges and of universities were 2 to 4 times more likely to emigrate to the United States and the United Kingdom than graduates from the bottom quintile colleges and universities.ConclusionGraduates of institutions with better quality medical training have a greater likelihood of emigrating. Interventions designed to counter loss of physicians should focus on graduates from top quality institutions.
Highlights
Physician 'brain drain' negatively impacts health care delivery
An estimated 575,000 students graduated from Indian medical schools between 1955 and 2002, about 80% of who were graduates of publicly funded medical colleges
47,527 physicians, trained in India, were registered in the American Medical Association (AMA) master-file. Of these 46,083 were born outside of the United States and the United Kingdom, and taken as the "emigrants." In the GMC database, 26,655 physicians graduated from Indian medical schools during this period
Summary
Physician 'brain drain' negatively impacts health care delivery. Interventions to address physician emigration have been constrained by lack of research on systematic factors that influence physician migration. In light of growing awareness of the adverse impact of physician movement, a few developing countries have asked destination countries to financially compensate the countries of origin for losses [2] and a few developed countries have proposed ethically appropriate methods of recruiting physicians[3]. These efforts notwithstanding, interventions by developed countries to prevent this 'brain drain' are likely to be limited by their need for physicians, along with concerns about protecting physicians' right to mobility. Understanding the quality of physicians who join the work-force is important for developed countries, given patients' and policymakers' concerns about the quality of physicians trained in developing countries[9,10]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
