Physician Workforce Crisis? Wrong Diagnosis, Wrong Prescription

Authors:
  • EFElliott S. Fisher
    Elliott S. Fisher
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Abstract
Despite the fact that there are now more physicians per capita in the United States than there have been for at least 50 years, the Council on Graduate Medical Education (COGME) recently predicted a 10% shortfall of physicians by 2020. Public concern about access to care, reports of difficulties in recruiting physicians in many specialties, and discussion of the looming collapse of primary care all contribute to the sense of crisis. The Association of American Medical Colleges has responded with calls for a 30% expansion of U.S. medical schools and a lifting of the current cap on Medicare funding for graduate medical education so that federal dollars can support the expansion of the workforce.