Impending Physician Shortage

As a future healthcare administrator, one of our main concerns is ensuring that patients and customers are provided with quality health care. Whether the quality is in relation to increased access to care, the environment in which care is provided, or the outcome of the care provided, one common factor is the physician (or physicians) that provide said care.

According to an April 2010 article from the Wall Street Journal, Suzanne Sataline investigates the relation between the rising number of insured patients and the number of physicians able to provide primary care to these patients. Experts are worried that the new healthcare law will allow for more to be able to receive care, yet there won't be enough physicians to treat everyone.

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, our nation could face a shortage of as many as 150,000 doctors by 2025. The greatest need for physicians is in the department of internal medicine and family medicine. The new healthcare law pushes for an increased role of primary care in each patient's life, but with a shortage of these physicians, patients could face limited access to their doctors and longer wait times.

Many problems are contributing to the shortage and the end doesn't look like it's anywhere in sight. Students entering the medical field have desires to specialize in areas other than family medicine and general practice. After going to school for many years and accruing sizable debt, new doctors are more likely to specialize in areas in which money can be made faster. Current physicians are aging into retirement or even becoming ill themselves, as is the case in Rochester, NY. On July 14, 2011, WHEC-News 10 in Rochester, NY reports that thousands are looking for new primary are providers, after theirs have had to leave practice. Rural areas are having difficulty attracting physicians to want to come practice in those areas.

Adding more fuel to the fire is the fact that there are only so many Residency postitions throughout the various teaching hospitals in the United States. The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates that there are about 110,000 spots for residents, and teaching hospitals rely heavily on Medicare to pay for these spots. A cap imposed in 1997 by Congress makes it difficult for hospitals to increase the number of residents they can accept. Not helping in the issue, some hospitals have even been faced with the decision of removing their "teaching hospital" status, in an attempt to improve the level of care being provided to patients.

Some solutions have begun in attempt to solve this crisis, such as redistributing unused residency slots to other institutions. The thought is that most of these redistributed slots will go to those seeking primary care and general surgery residencies. Educators, such as those at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, have been increasing the number of students in their classes. The University also established a satellite campus, in an effort to give students more experience and boost the number of primary-care providers entering the field. Some programs even ask their students to commit to rural medicine, in hopes that the students will stay in the area to practice after graduation.


References:

Vernon, Jamila. June 20, 2011. "Medical School Enrollment Continued Growth in 2010." Retrieved July 20, 2011 from https://www.aamc.org/newsroom/newsreleases/2011/251754/110620.html

"Primary Care Physician Shortage," July 14, 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2011 from http://www.whec.com/news/stories/s2199576.shtml

Sataline, Suzanne & Wang, Shirley S. April 12, 2010. "Medical Schools Can't Keep Up." The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 20, 2011 from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304506904575180331528424238.html