President Donald Trump's new travel ban may impact U.S. physicians born in one of the banned countries and severely handicap Rust Belt and Appalachia-area patients in the process, according to Five Thirty Eight.
Here are five things to know:
1. Over 7,000 physicians practicing in the U.S. trained in Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen — the six countries listed in the President's new executive order.
2. Approximately 80 students from the seven countries listed in President Trump's previous executive order (Iraq included) are currently enrolled in U.S. medical school while over 1,000 have applied for U.S.-based residencies and fellowships.
3. Physicians currently practicing in the U.S. who hail from the six banned countries largely practice in medically underserved areas facing pediatrics and psychiatry shortages in the Rust Belt states (which are largely credited with securing the President's electoral victory in November) and Appalachia. Altogether, these physicians treat over 14 million people a year.
4. Boston-based MIT graduate student Michael Stepner explores these physicians' role in U.S. medicine. He said, "These are areas that have been losing jobs and population. A lot of the highly skilled people [like physicians] leave for new opportunities, and the remaining people are left with few options."
5. The ban's impact on physicians from the six countries remains unclear. Other scientific fields may shed some light on what to expect: graduate engineering program application have declined about 30 percent this year and the President's first ban denied U.S. entry to many physicians, residents and their families.
More practice management articles:
Repeal & replace in session — GOP set to reveal awaited healthcare plan this week
Physician salaries: Which states' physicians earn the most & more: 5 key takeaways
What happened when a Syrian, Muslim physician wrote a letter to his patients about immigration