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A point of controversy that seems to often become muffled under the (arguably more fiscally important) "how do we make people be insured" question is "will there be a physician shortage?"
Recently I found out that it's actually a touchy topic whether there will be such a huge shortage. The AAMC, in this press release and this report of physician supply and demand through 2025 presage a shortfall between 61,700 and 94,700 physicians (according to the latter source, 12,500-31,100 PCPs and 28,200-63,700 non-PCPs)
And yet, in this New York Times opinion piece which quotes the Institute of Medicine the argument is made that with "midlevel practitioners" like PAs and nurse practitioners the burden on medicine itself is addressed, and that the the key problem is under-use of these resources and poor distribution of physicians (with rural areas receiving less care than cities.)
What does SDN think about this? Should we brace for the shortage, or will the structural shortfalls that contribute to it be fixed as more people outside of medicine join the field?
Recently I found out that it's actually a touchy topic whether there will be such a huge shortage. The AAMC, in this press release and this report of physician supply and demand through 2025 presage a shortfall between 61,700 and 94,700 physicians (according to the latter source, 12,500-31,100 PCPs and 28,200-63,700 non-PCPs)
And yet, in this New York Times opinion piece which quotes the Institute of Medicine the argument is made that with "midlevel practitioners" like PAs and nurse practitioners the burden on medicine itself is addressed, and that the the key problem is under-use of these resources and poor distribution of physicians (with rural areas receiving less care than cities.)
What does SDN think about this? Should we brace for the shortage, or will the structural shortfalls that contribute to it be fixed as more people outside of medicine join the field?
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