ABSTRACT
State policy makers, healthcare professionals, and advocates have been asking various iterations of the question, Do we have too many or too few physicians? In order to address this question, a relative-needs analysis was conducted for the state of Oklahoma. Six projection-needs studies were used for comparison with Oklahoma's supply of practicing physicians. This analysis found that Oklahoma did not have a surplus of primary care physicians. While the national average for primary care physicians per 100,000 was 79, Oklahoma's ratio was 68. This analysis also compares not only the number of physicians in Oklahoma per 100,000 population, it also discusses the proportion of primary care physicians in the physician workforce. Primary care physicians were found to be neither oversupplied nor undersupplied in Oklahoma. Oklahoma was found to be closer to national planning model goals than most states in the United States. Because this study combines both allopathic and osteopathic physicians and includes only those physicians in active practice, it is unique in comparison to many other studies concerning physician workforce needs.
Subject(s)
Family Practice , Physicians/supply & distribution , Primary Health Care , Humans , Medically Underserved Area , Oklahoma , Osteopathic Medicine , WorkforceABSTRACT
Transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) may offer an objective way of evaluating the peripheral auditory systems of difficult-to-test patients. Children with autism are often suspected of hearing loss, but frequently will not respond on traditional behavior auditory tests. The clinical feasibility of obtaining TEOAEs on children with autism was evaluated here. The use of TEOAEs for 6 children (12 ears) with autism is described here regarding the acquisition of data, the presence of emissions, and their amplitudes and reproducibility. Emissions were recorded for 9 of the 12 ears; the lack of emissions for the remaining 3 ears was due to lack of patient cooperation. The results suggest that TEOAEs may be a valuable part of the audiologic test battery for children with autistic behavior. The ease of obtaining emissions for these children with autism is discussed.
