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Erin Fraher Presents to 2024 NCIOM Legislative Policy Fellows

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An image of Dr. Erin Fraher, sitting behind a desk presenting. Dr. Fraher has red curly hair and is wearing a blue dress shirt. She is sitting in a chair with a white table in front of her. On the table are stacks of papers, water bottles and a name tag with her name written on it. She is wearing black pants, polka dot socks (grey socks with pink, blue, yellow and black dots) and black dress shoes.

Workforce Program Director Dr. Erin Fraher presented at the first session of the NCIOM Legislative Health Policy Fellows in 2024 on January 8th. This program, funded by the Duke Endowment, brings together state legislators to learn from health policy experts about key health issues facing the state. Dr. Erin Fraher presented to the NCIOM Legislative Fellows about the crucial issues facing the health workforce in North Carolina.

Dr. Fraher’s presentation focused on primary care shortages throughout the state and the growing disparity in physician supply between NC’s metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties. In 2000, NC’s metro counties had 9.5 more physicians per capita compared to non-metro counties and that gap had widened to 12.6 more physicians per capita in metro counties in 2022. NC has seen a rapid growth in the Nurse Practitioner (NP) and Physician Assistant (PA) workforces with NPs increasing by 430% between 2000 and 2022 and PAs growing by 248% in the same time period. Analyses by Evan Galloway, Research Associate with the Program, and Adam Zolotor from the NC AHEC found that even after accounting for the growth of NPs and PAs in primary care, 28 NC counties still face primary care workforce shortages.