Page 9 - Delaware Medical Journal - February 2017

PRESIDENT’S PAGE
PRAYUS TAILOR, MD
MSD President Prayus Tailor, MD is a Nephrologist who practices with Nephrology Associates in Newark and Wilmington.
A DIMER Primer
In 2016, our state government defunded multiple professional education programs that will reduce
the physician workforce which has the potential of negatively impacting the health of Delawareans. Among these program is the Delaware Institute
for Medical Education and Research (DIMER). Fortunately, the Insurance Commissioner intervened and temporarily restored funding for the year 2017 with monies outside of
the budget.
At the time this Journal article went to press, we learned that DIMER funding was restored in Governor Markell’s FY2018 proposed budget. While the restoration in the Governor’s budget under the Department of Health and Social Services is a positive step,
its inclusion remains tenuous until Governor Carney’s recommendations are released and after the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee
DIMER, however, is not at all new. It was created in 1969 to give Delaware students the opportunity to pursue medical degrees in Philadelphia medical
schools since our state has no such institution. The agreements created admission spots at Sidney Kimmel Medical College (SKMC), formerly Jefferson Medical College, and at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM). This pathway gives Delaware aspiring students who wish to pursue a career in medicine the same opportunities that are found in every other state. Equally important, this pathway helps maintain Delaware’s supply of physicians.
I don’t need to tell you that the practice of medicine has become more onerous. According to the 2016 Physician Survey, the biennial research commissioned by The Physicians Foundation, 72 percent of Delaware physicians feel overextended
or overworked or are unable to accommodate new patients. The survey showed that 66 percent of Delaware physicians have at least some feelings of professional burnout, and 55 percent plan to accelerate their retirement. (http://tinyurl.com/2016DelSurvey)
We are seeing the effects of this dissatisfaction already. Doctors are
Del Med J | February 2017 | Vol. 89 | No. 2
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