Report: Montana is the Best State for Doctors

Montana is the best state in the nation for doctors, according to a report shared with us by Evelyn Pyburn with The Big Sky Business Journal. 

I never know what to actually think of these Wallet Hub reports. How credible are they? How do they come up with their metrics? What's their agenda? Nonetheless, I found this report from The Big Sky Business Journal very interesting. Either way, I hope rural hospitals in particular use info like this as a selling point in their effort to recruit doctors to Montana.

As The Big Sky Business Journal noted, "The study revealed Montana has the lowest rate of physicians reporting career burnout and one of the highest retention rates in the country, with over 63% of medical residents training here and ending up staying here."

Here's more: "WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia evaluating 19 key metrics, such as wages, number of hospitals per capita, etc.  South Dakota ranked 2, Nebraska 3, Utah 4. The mid-western states all ranked high.  Hawaii was 51, Rhode Island 50, New Jersey 49, Massachusetts 48 and New York 47.

According to Wallet Hub: Montana is the best state for doctors, and it has one of the top hospital systems in the country, with 82.5% of patients giving their hospital a score of 9 or 10 out of 10. Montana doctors also receive high wages. The state has the second-highest average income for obstetricians and gynecologists, at nearly $375,000, and one of the highest incomes for surgeons, at almost $420,000 on average. In addition, the Treasure State is a good place for doctors’ mental health, with the lowest rate of physicians reporting that they are burned out.

I noticed that Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R-MT) also touted the numbers in a recent press release. “Montana's commitment to quality health care and its dependable, hardworking health care workforce make it the best state in the nation for doctors to practice medicine,” Gov. Gianforte said. “We’ll continue to invest in strengthening our workforce and making Montana the best place to live, work, and raise a family.”

Here's the audio of our full chat with Evelyn Pyburn for our "Back to Business" segment on Monday.