Study Finds Large Shortage of Primary Care Physicians in Indiana

Report Also Shows that a Prescription Requirement for Certain Cold Medicines Would Further Strain the Primary Care Shortage Creating 25,000 New Doctor Visits Per Year in Indiana

News provided by

Consumer Healthcare Products Association

Feb 04, 2016, 11:15 ET

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Avalere Health released a national study that analyzed a number of states facing a primary care physician shortage as well as the costs that consumers would face if the state enacted a new prescription requirement for existing over-the-counter (OTC) medicines containing pseudoephedrine (PSE). The study found that 57 million Americans live in regions that lack adequate access to primary healthcare due to a shortage of physicians in their communities and that the U.S. health system will have a deficit of 52,000 doctors by 2025, but an increasing population in need of primary care. See the full report at www.avalere.com/insights.

In Indiana specifically, the study found that the state has 117 primary care physician shortage areas, with 25 percent of Hoosiers already living in an area without enough doctors. Additionally, the study found that placing a new prescription requirement for current OTC medicines containing PSE would create an additional 25,890 new doctor visits in the state of Indiana, creating an unnecessary additional workload burden on a physician community that is already facing a shortage, costing $400,000 in new Medicaid spending on unnecessary doctor visits and prescriptions, and resulting in $1,500,000 in lost sales tax revenue for Indiana in the first year alone.

About the Consumer Healthcare Products Association

The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) is the 135-year-old national trade association representing the leading manufacturers and marketers of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines and dietary supplements. Every dollar spent by consumers on OTC medicines saves the U.S. healthcare system $6-7, contributing a total of $102 billion in savings each year. CHPA is committed to empowering consumer self-care by preserving and expanding choice and availability of consumer healthcare products.

www.chpa.org

SOURCE Consumer Healthcare Products Association