South Carolina Medical School Helping to Address Primary Care Physician Shortage
By Christopher Cheney
As CMOs know, there is a primary care physician shortage across the country, and South Carolina is no exception. By 2030, the Cicero Institute projects that the state will have a shortfall of nearly 1,000 primary care physicians.
The University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville has launched an innovative program to help address the primary care physician shortage in the Palmetto State.
Frank Beacham, MD, a clinical assistant professor and director of the Primary Care Accelerated Track (PCAT) program at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, has direct experience with the primary care physician shortage.
“I practice family medicine, and I see firsthand how many patients struggle to find a primary care physician,” Beacham says. “Even when they have one, getting an appointment can be a major challenge. The demand for primary care physicians is constantly growing.”
The PCAT program offers a medical degree on a three-year track, with students receiving full-tuition scholarships for their degree if they commit to practicing in South Carolina for four years. The program started in July 2024 with five students enrolled in the three-year program who will pursue a residency in family medicine.
The PCAT program is a parallel-track curriculum with the medical school’s traditional four-year medical degree program.
“We take all of the required courses of the four-year program, and we efficiently put the courses in three years of curriculum,” Beacham says. “Our three-year students are receiving the same requirements as the four-year students. We just do it in a more time-efficient manner.”
Although there are other three-year medical degree programs in the country, the PCAT program has some unique characteristics, according to Beacham.
“There are similar three-year primary care curriculums, but we put our students in a three-year curriculum designed for family medicine students,” Beacham says. “We are also putting our students into a family medicine clinical environment within the first month of them being a medical student.”
An emphasis on mentorship is another unique aspect of the PCAT program. The PCAT students are learning in a residency-clinic program where they may eventually do their residency training.
“They learn from the faculty. They learn alongside fellows and residents. They have exposure to our department of family medicine leadership,” Beacham says. “They are working alongside community faculty members with whom they are eventually going to be colleagues.”
Model for CMOs to follow
The PCAT program provides a blueprint for CMOs and other healthcare leaders to follow in their states, Beacham explains.
“First, you must identify the need within the state,” Beacham says. “Are there certain targeted areas within a state that need more primary care physicians?”
CMOs should look at their healthcare organization’s partnerships, according to Beacham.
“Do they have graduate medical education programs within their own organization, or can they partner with GME programs to help a graduating resident from a GME program transition seamlessly into their organization,” Beacham says. “CMOs should look at what partnerships they have with medical schools.”
Providing financial support for a program such as PCAT has a return on investment, Beacham explains.
“A CMO should consider paying for a student’s tuition, then have the student have an employment agreement with the CMO’s organization,” Beacham says.
The return on investment comes in the form of avoiding physician recruitment costs, avoiding lost revenue when primary care physician positions are vacant, and avoiding the relatively high cost of paying a locum tenens physician to fill an open position.
Plans for expansion
Currently, the PCAT program is being funded with philanthropic money through the medical school.
“We have a mission here that we educate, innovate, and serve,” Beacham says. “Our program embodies that mission. We are educating students in an innovative way, then they serve patients in the state of South Carolina.”
The medical school would like to expand the program in the future.
“Right now, we are focused on family medicine,” Beacham says. “But if we can get some additional dollars, which we are trying to seek out, we can expand our program to internal medicine, pediatrics, or another primary care specialty.”
Christopher Cheney is the CMO editor at HealthLeaders.