
Physician Shortage Requires Multi-Prong Solution
Medicare's refusal to expand physician education funding will exacerbate the staffing shortage that is growing as baby boomers retire.
There is a crisis looming, and it will be detrimental to patients’ health. A 2017 study released by the
Part of this shortage is driven by the aging baby boomer population. According to data from the US Census Bureau, by 2030, all of the baby boomers will have moved into the ranks of the older population. This means that the number of adults aged 65 and over will go from 13.7% of the population in 2012 to 20.3% in 2030. According to a whitepaper from
The
The good news is that medical schools are on pace to increase enrollment by 30%. However, the 1997 cap on Medicare support for graduate medical education (GME) has stymied the necessary increases in residency training. Since it takes up to 10 years to train a doctor, projected shortages in 2030 need to be addressed now so that we will have enough physicians to treat our growing population.
Fixing the physician shortage requires a multi-pronged approach which includes: increasing funding for residency programs, increasing the use of physician extenders to maximize a physician’s reach, and embracing new and innovative technologies to increase medical coverage, especially in rural and underserved areas.
The AAMC and the
Another way to address the physician shortage is to increase the use of physician extenders. Physician’s assistants are an important part of this process, as are specialists such as anesthesiology assistants. Karen Sibert, MD, president of the California Society of Anesthesiologists and a professor at UCLA, was recently quoted in a
Increasing the use of telehealth can also help hospitals and health systems
One interesting innovation was a
There is not one silver bullet to solve the pervasive physician shortage problem. In order to tackle this enormous issue, there needs to be adequate funding from both the public and private sectors, as well as an increased willingness to adopt innovative models that support current primary care doctors and specialists, and attract the next generation of physicians who will care for us.
About the Author
Gary Mangiofico, PhD, is an executive professor of organizational theory and management and academic director at the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School. Dr. Mangiofico has taught at the Pepperdine Graziadio School since 2002, and brings more than 20 years of experience leading strategic develoment, operations management and integration, and turnaround operations as CEO, COO, and a general management executive for both start-ups and Fortune 500 companies. He is a former vice president for Johnson & Johnson Health Care Services; COO and senior vice president (SVP) for Pathmakers, SVP for Apria Healthcare Group, and CEO for CPC Alhambra Hospital. Dr. Mangiofico was recently elected chair of the board of trustees of the Organizational Development Network, and is on the committee helping to plan the upcoming Pepperdine Graziadio
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