Dear Colleagues:

As we welcome the newest members of the BWH community, we need to recognize many of the growing challenges facing our residents in 2002. Medical education is a complex and ever evolving enterprise that requires commitment and ongoing support.

The BWPO is working actively to address many of the financial and worklife concerns of our residents. But, we need to rely upon the support of others as well. Massachusetts continues to set a difficult course for the hospital and physician reimbursement, which contributes directly to the problem. Hospitals recover only 71 percent of costs from the Medicaid program and after adjusting for academic rank and cost of living, general surgeon reimbursement falls into the 30th percentile.

As the average indebtedness of medical students has skyrocketed, the number of residents has dropped precipitously and the number of unfilled residency positions has increased nationally. There is no doubt that we must look closely at the phenomenon in the years ahead.

In the years ahead, one of the main jobs of the BWPO will be to assist the Partners effort to make the federal government understand the impact of decreasing physician reimbursement related to the quality and quantity of applicants to medical school and to the longest and most rigorous training programs in medical specialties.

Sincerely,

Lawrence H. Cohn, MD
Chairman, BWPO