Idaho: questions about workforce data accuracy for ob/gyns
Idaho lawmakers and an anti-abortion advocacy group are promoting data suggesting that the state has not experienced a significant loss of obstetrician-gynecologists since its criminal abortion ban took effect, but physicians and researchers dispute that conclusion. The article examines the difficulty of determining how many OB-GYNs have actually left Idaho because available licensing and employment data do not necessarily distinguish between doctors who relocate, retire, stop practicing obstetrics, or otherwise change their professional status. Physicians interviewed for the article say the impact of Idaho's abortion restrictions is better understood by looking at changes in medical practice, including doctors declining to provide certain services, difficulties recruiting new physicians, and concerns about practicing in an environment where the legal consequences of medical decisions are uncertain. The debate illustrates the challenges regulatory and licensing organizations may face when interpreting workforce data and assessing how changes in law affect professional practice, recruitment, retention, and access to regulated health services.