A new study, released in the August issue of the journal Health Affairs, indicates that the quality of care provided by physicians educated abroad is as good as physicians educated in the US, which previously have been questioned for not having the same competence.

The study, performed in Pennsylvania by the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research, found no significant difference in the death rates of patients treated by international medical school graduates and those graduated at US medical schools. The researchers did however raise important questions regarding the approximately one-fifth of US citizens who seek training abroad. The study found that the patients of US-born doctors who graduate from non-US medical schools had higher rates of in-hospital deaths than the patients of foreign-born international medical graduates. Approximately one forth of all the US doctors are educated abroad.

Mr. John J. Norcini, president and chief executive officer of the FAIMER (Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research), who is also the lead author of the study says, “Despite a rigorous U.S. certification process for international graduates, the quality of care provided by doctors educated abroad has been an ongoing concern. It is reassuring to know that patients of these doctors receive the same quality of care that they would from any physical trained in the United States.”

Foreign-born international doctors has the lowest death rates

The study analyzed 244,153 hospitalizations of patients with congestive heart failure or acute heart attack in the state of Pennsylvania who were treated by either a US-trained or a foreign-trained doctor. In total, 6,113 doctors were part of the study. Among the three different groups researched (foreign nationals trained abroad, US nationals trained in the US, and US nationals trained abroad), patients of foreign-born international medical graduates had the lowest death rates, while those of US-citizen international graduates had the highest. To look at the quality of care, measured in the shortest lenghts-of-stay, Patients of US graduates had the shortest lengths-of-stay while the patients from US-citizen international graduates had the longest. Grasping the latter, one can of course argue against a short lenght-of-stay as a true measure of quality.

Nocini continues; “These findings bring attention to foreign-trained doctors and the valuable role they have played in responding to the nation’s physician shortage. U.S. medical schools are doing their part by expanding for the first time in thirty years, but the number of graduate training programs has not increased proportionately. If this continues, the current physician shortages will persist and the numbers of foreign-trained doctors will likely decrease significantly.”

Specialty board certification associated with lower mortality rates

Other interesting findings from the study shows that specialty board certification was associated with lower mortality and shorter stays in hospital, and that physician performance declined over time, with mortality rates and lengths-of-stays increasing with the number of years since graduation from medical school.

These findings confirm the strong belief of so many physicians outside the US today, that the quality of safety and care is just as good, if not better, with physicians trained outside the US.