By DR. RALPH K. MESSO http://www.silive.com STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Americans today are facing a severe shortage of primary care specialists. According to a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), only 2 percent of the graduating classes of medical schools are entering residency training in primary care.

By KIM BARTO – Bulletin Staff Writer http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com Memorial Hospital in Martinsville is exploring new ways to recruit more doctors and reduce stress on its current staff. It can be hard to get a doctor’s appointment locally because many practices are closed to new patients, said Darren Aaron, director of growth and business development at […]

http://www.newsday.com Where they stand on health care, as adapted from an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation. JOHN MCCAIN OVERALL. Begin taxing employer-sponsored health benefits as income, instead providing a tax credit of $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families to increase incentives for insurance coverage. Contain costs through payment changes to providers and tort […]

http://www.delcotimes.com Gov. Ed Rendell was a busy man on Thursday, signing dozens of new bills into law. There were measures, among others, providing funds to repair bridges, add new county judges – including one for Delaware County – and to restrict the use of mandatory overtime for nurses.

By Hadley Catalano http://www.bigislandweekly.com Is there a diagnosis to Hawai`i’s health care crisis? According to state Sen. Josh Green, Third District (West Hawai`i), the cure rests in the state’s willingness to pass legislation on medical malpractice and reimbursement reform. “In the upcoming legislative session, I will introduce a comprehensive health care reform bill in the […]

http://www.stclairrecord.com By Steve Gonzalez

Dr. ALLAN PEREL NEW DORP [The writer is president of the Richmond County Medical Society] http://www.silive.com On behalf of the over 1,000 physicians who practice on Staten Island, I would like to thank and recognize the work of Gov. David Paterson, the New York State Senate and New York State Assembly for passing cutting-edge legislation […]

By Aaron Wasserman/Daily News staff http://www.milforddailynews.com The number of primary care practices closed to new patients is growing as the state sees shortages among those doctors and other specialities, according to a study being released today. In its annual survey of the labor market for physicians, the Massachusetts Medical Society says patient demand is outstripping […]

By Melissa Westphal http://www.rrstar.com