Amidst an already apparent physician shortage, experts have projected that these current shortage numbers will only continue to increase in the coming years. Complexities of Physician Supply and Demand: Projections Through 2025, a published report by the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) in 2008 details that through 2025, the supply of physicians in America will still fail to meet the demand, with the shortage increasing year by year.
Keys to determining this shortage include: the growth of the population in the United States, baby-boomers, aging physicians, and increased physician visits. These same projections forecast that the current shortage of physicians will skyrocket by the year 2025 to an estimated 124,000 full-time physicians. This shortage can be combated by increasing efficiency, refining how health care is delivered, and utilizing both physicians and other health care professionals more effectively.
Some of the other health care professionals, that can help fight to maintain quality care, are often referred to as advanced practitioners, or mid-level providers. These health care providers include: nurse practitioners, physician assistants, certified registered nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and more.
With the inevitable increased physician shortage in America, the recruitment and use of these providers will prove to be crucial in helping alleviate the stress on physicians, all the while maintaining a high quality of care.
Pinnacle Health Group Vice President of Training and Recruiting, Craig Fowler, feels like the talk of a physician shortage is finally coming to a head. “The decade old conversation has become a bit old. But, the physician shortage is here. The increased demand for healthcare services by baby-boomers, and the aging physician population, coupled with the decreasing appeal of the medical field by college grads due to declining reimbursements, increasing regulation, and the uncertainty of Obamacare, are all present day issues that are requiring those of us in the physician recruitment field, both in-house and firm, to consider creative ways to fill primary care vacancies.”
One of the most necessary needs to address is the lack of American trained medical doctors choosing to practice Primary Care. If the number of these physicians choosing to bypass Primary Care continues to increase, then the utilization of nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other mid-level providers and the current role they play will need to be further addressed. As it stands, the median income for a traditional Family Practice physician is $196,742, 2 with Internal Medicine physicians making a median of $205,379.
These numbers pale in comparison to the income made by sub-specialized physicians such as Non-Invasive Cardiologists, whose median income, according to the 2011 MGMA Compensation Survey, is $431,740.2 This chasm-like gap between salaries is a major factor in the deterrence of American trained physicians in pursuing a Primary Care practice upon the completion of their training.
According to Fowler, “To many, Mid-Level providers are the answer. So much so, that the National Association of Physician Recruiters is dedicating nearly a quarter of its annual conference time to educate its membership on how these professions can work to fill country’s primary care void. Many physician recruitment firms are moving into this new niche.”
As the Primary Care problem worsens, the already prevalent number of mid-level providers should continue to increase as a way to ease this blow. As Fowler stated above, as recruiters in both hospitals, and placement firms, continue to find creative ways to fill the void left by the ever-growing physician shortage, turning the focus to recruiting mid-level providers may be the best long-term solution.