Shortage of physicians in US

Shortage of physicians is no news for the American health care industry. Part of this could be subjected to what the industry could offer primary care physicians in monetary terms. According to a survey by Medscape, specialists make 45% more than primary care physicians. The Association of American Medical Colleges released a physician workforce projection report that estimates an overall U.S. physician shortfall of up to 90,000 physicians by 2025. Another study by AAMC predicts that United States will face a shortage of between 61,700 to 94,700 physicians.

The industry is already going through a transition phase where issues such as ICD 10, Merit based incentive payment system, alternative payment models (APMs) have boggled the physicians since all these have a direct bearing on their annual earnings and operations.

Generically speaking, it is hard to expand the workforce in an industry which is encountering turbulence. There is no short term solution for it and the only way out is to have a long term plan dictated by superior incentives to motivate and encourage people to join the industry.

The total shortage indicated by IHS Inc. shows that there will be a shortfall of primary care physicians between 12,500 to 31,100. While non-primary physicians will have a shortfall of 28,200 to 63,700.

According to AAMC, some of the solutions the health care industry can look at are as follows:

·         Team based care and better use of technology

·         Federal support to train at least 3000 more doctors per year

Further the issue needs to be researched on matters such as use of digital technologies in healthcare, physician retention, productivity and well-being and an evaluation of care delivery models.

Looking at the basic economics of this situation reflects a gap in the market. The demand for health care exceeds the supply.

Contributing to the crises is increased demand due to:

·         Affordable Care Act that has led to more Americans seeking physicians because they have insurance.

·         Aging population: Scarcity of physicians over the coming time period will become even more significant as the ageing population is set to increase and so are there medical requirements.

·        Population growth: The U.S. population is projected to grow by close to 8.6%, from about 319 million to 346 million.

This existing gap directs to providing the right medical care at the right place at the right time. A possible quick fix could be a walk in clinic that is a combination of the three attributes listed above.

What can walk in clinics offer?

·         Convenience

·         Reasonable in cost

·         Quick appointment

Common Illness, drug screening, medication and pediatric services along with wound care are some of the common services offered at walk in clinics.

Physician shortage will persist in any circumstances .Hence, walk in clinics are not the complete solution but it can complement by taking off the load by catering off to a number of diseases. This is not only convenient from the patients’ point of view but part of practitioners burden can also be taken off. This is a valuable contribution since it makes the operations more efficient by managing the influx of patients cost effectively.