Congressman Gregory F. Murphy, MD, presented “The Urologist Shortage” for the Grand Rounds in Urology audience in September 2021.
How to cite: Murphy, Gregory F. “The Urologist Shortage.” September 2021. Accessed Jul 2024. https://grandroundsinurology.com/congressman-greg-murphy-md-on-the-urologist-shortage/
Congressman Greg Murphy, MD, on the Urologist Shortage
Congressman Gregory F. Murphy, MD, a practicing urologist and the Representative from North Carolina’s 3rd District, considers the urologist shortage in the United States and how legislation could increase recruitment and lower the burden on practices and hospitals. After an introduction from E. David Crawford, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Grand Rounds in Urology and Professor of Urology at the University of California, San Diego, Rep. Murphy notes that while many practices and hospitals in the US are working hard to recruit urologists, there simply are not enough available. As a result, Rep. Murphy explains, advanced practice providers are taking on many of the roles urologists typically perform, perhaps going beyond the scope of what they should be doing. One solution, he suggests, is to graduate more urologists and he notes that the CARES Act is helping to do this by providing funding to add residency slots for urology. Rep. Murphy also observes that the expansion of telehealth, which provides good and efficient care, has reduced strain on urologists, although he warns that proposed legislation to lower the age of Medicare eligibility to 60 may lead to increased financial hardship for practices and hospitals. The conversation concludes with an in-depth discussion on telehealth between Rep. Murphy and Dr. Crawford that covers how urologists can use telehealth, as well as the potential pros and cons of legislation allowing interstate licenses.
For more on legislation affecting urologists from GRU, check out The Veteran’s Prostate Cancer Treatment and Research Act.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Originally from Raleigh, Congressman Greg Murphy graduated magna cum laude from Davidson College in 1985. He attended UNC School of Medicine graduating with Honors. After completing his residency in Urology and Renal Transplantation at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, he and his wife, Wendy, settled in Greenville, NC to begin his practice. Dr. Murphy has been the President of Eastern Urological Associates in Greenville, an Affiliate Professor and Chief of the Division of Urology at the ECU School of Medicine, Davidson College’s Alumni President and served on Davidson’s Board of Trustees. Outside of work, he has traveled extensively for the last 35 years as a Medical Missionary, including to India, several parts of Africa, Nicaragua, and Haiti.
Dr. Murphy’s professional career has been primarily one of clinical practice and administrative leadership positions. His surgical practice site is Vidant Medical Center, which serves 29 eastern NC counties. He served for three years as Chief of Staff of the Medical Center.
As a newcomer to politics, Dr. Murphy served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. During his second term in the General Assembly, he served as Senior Chair of Health Policy and Chair of Health and Human Services Appropriations. Dr. Murphy was the Primary Sponsor of both the STOP Act and the HOPE Act, North Carolina’s two main legislative actions to combat the Opioid Crisis. He led efforts to combat waste, fraud, and abuse in the state’s Medicaid system which saved the state hundreds of millions of dollars during his tenure.
Dr. Murphy was sworn in to the U.S. Representatives in September 2019, replacing the late Congressman Walter B Jones, Jr. He serves on the House Committee on Education and Labor as well as the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
