ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the trends in and patterns of flows of immigrant health professionals to the United States (U.S.), in light of projected shortages in human resources for health in the future. India is known to be the largest source of immigrant physicians and the second largest source of Registered Nurses (RNs) in the United States but ranks lower as a source country for other categories of health professionals. As the United States continues to face health worker shortages, the dependence on immigrant professionals, especially from source nations like India, will remain significant in the future. In this context, this chapter analyses Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) data, discusses the rising share of Indian health workers and the related policy dimensions in the U.S. context. The study also suggests the need to explore potential collaborations between India and the United States in the area of healthcare delivery and medical sciences. As the two countries are scheduled to hold sector-specific talks to finalize a proposed bilateral trade agreement, labour mobility may also emerge as a crucial point of discussion, given the significant flows of healthcare professionals from India.
