Primary Care Physician
HCA-240
February 1, 2014
Vernon Thacker
The Primary Care Physician Dilemma
Today, the United States is facing a shortage of about 16,000 primary care physicians and this number will continue to grow by 2025 (Amirault, 2014). Primary care physicians (PCPs) are the doctors who focus on overall health and offer the treatments and preventive screenings that save lives. A physician shortage is a situation in which there are not enough providers to treat all patients in need of medical care. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has long pointed out that the shortage of primary care physicians will be a major setback for the American healthcare system advancing (Amirault, 2014). The shortage of primary care providers presents a serious problem for many healthcare organizations, and one that cannot be easily fixed. Throughout this paper, the contemporary health care issue of the shortage of primary care physicians will be further discussed, as well as its challenges and its impact on health care organizations from a business perspective.
There are a number of factors contributing to the shortage of primary care physicians. The simple rule of supply and demand is driving the physician shortage. The existing primary care physician workforce is shrinking as the demand for primary care services is increasing because of the aging population and the expected number of insured Americans who will enter the system through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Christian, 2011). The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is the federal statute that attempts to reform the American healthcare system by providing more Americans with affordable health insurance (Currie, 2013). Some other reasons why there is a shortage of primary care physicians is that a significant portion of the physician workforce (33%) is over the age of 55 and is planning to retire in the next ten to fifteen years (Amirault, 2014). The number of U.S. medical students going into
February 1, 2014
Vernon Thacker
The Primary Care Physician Dilemma
Today, the United States is facing a shortage of about 16,000 primary care physicians and this number will continue to grow by 2025 (Amirault, 2014). Primary care physicians (PCPs) are the doctors who focus on overall health and offer the treatments and preventive screenings that save lives. A physician shortage is a situation in which there are not enough providers to treat all patients in need of medical care. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has long pointed out that the shortage of primary care physicians will be a major setback for the American healthcare system advancing (Amirault, 2014). The shortage of primary care providers presents a serious problem for many healthcare organizations, and one that cannot be easily fixed. Throughout this paper, the contemporary health care issue of the shortage of primary care physicians will be further discussed, as well as its challenges and its impact on health care organizations from a business perspective.
There are a number of factors contributing to the shortage of primary care physicians. The simple rule of supply and demand is driving the physician shortage. The existing primary care physician workforce is shrinking as the demand for primary care services is increasing because of the aging population and the expected number of insured Americans who will enter the system through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Christian, 2011). The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is the federal statute that attempts to reform the American healthcare system by providing more Americans with affordable health insurance (Currie, 2013). Some other reasons why there is a shortage of primary care physicians is that a significant portion of the physician workforce (33%) is over the age of 55 and is planning to retire in the next ten to fifteen years (Amirault, 2014). The number of U.S. medical students going into
References: Amirault, B. (2014). Get the Facts: The Physician Shortage. Barton Associates. Retrieved from http://www.bartonassociates.com/2014/01/06/get-the-facts-the- physician-shortage/ Christian, T. (2011). Fixing the Shortage of Primary Care Physicians. Kennedy School Review, 1129-31. Retreived from http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dire ct=true&db=a9h&AN=67703352&site=ehost-live&scope=site Currie, D. (2013). Study predicts primary care shortage for 7 million Americans in 2014. Nation 's Health, 43(4), 9. Retrieved from http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dire ct=true&db=a9h&AN=87289542&site=ehost-live&scope=site Latham, S. R. (2010). Too Few Physicians, or Too Many?. Hastings Center Report, 40(1), 11-12. Retrieved from http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?dire ct=true&db=a9h&AN=48043398&site=ehost-live&scope=site