HealthStream offers performance learning management solutions to help develop your healthcare staff into leaders and reduce turnover.
View All ProductsHealthStream works with healthcare organizations to create engaging and high-quality training videos for your staff and management.
View All ProductsImprove care quality and save money by making informed decisions about your healthcare facility and staff with HealthStream's reporting analytics solution.
View All ProductsHealthStream's proven methods for the improvement and overall engagement of your healthcare staff foster a positive workplace and increase retention rates.
View All ProductsBe confident in your staff’s ability to reduce risk by providing compliance training that changes behavior.
View All ProductsDevelop next-level people for next-level care by prioritizing quality and safety improvements.
View All ProductsEstablish a culture of belonging with education supporting DEI, wellness, engagement, and leadership development.
View All ProductsDeliver custom or industry designed product training directly to patient and resident care environments to reinforce proper use.
View All ProductsStop wasting money on RCM issues. Learn how to Provide your team with expert-led revenue cycle training to help them reduce denied claims, reimbursement mistakes, and more.
View All ProductsLearn about our advanced resuscitation training solutions. Our solutions are designed to help improve patient outcomes.
View All ProductsOur competency development solutions personalize learning for clinicians to bridge the gap between theory and practice for your nurse residents.
View All ProductsEnhance maternal & child nursing care with solutions focused on improving the quality of care for mothers, infants, and children.
View All ProductsAddress staffing orientation challenges to easily achieve and maintain certification with our emergency and acute care training solutions.
View All ProductsAs a premier provider of healthcare education, we are committed to promoting safer, more successful surgical and sedation outcomes for each and every patient.
View All ProductsOur solutions are designed to cater to the needs of patients, healthcare professionals, and organizations dealing with illnesses or chronic conditions.
View All ProductsHealthcare workforce management is essential. We provide advanced scheduling solutions for organizations to solve issues such as nurse retention
View All ProductsTackle all the challenges of provider directory management within a health plan with a single solution tailored to your specific needs.
View All ProductsOur affordable CVO credentialing services establish patient safety by enabling primary source verification for your healthcare organization.
View All ProductsFinally, a comprehensive resource to support collecting, storing, and sharing credentialing data with ease.
View All ProductsIntegrate with Epic to validate and add new providers directly to your provider master file.
View All ProductsMitigate risk and elevate your quality of care. Improving both clinical and business outcomes starts with a smarter, more integrated approach to regulatory training, continuing education and quality management.
Learn MoreThis post is taken from an article by Robin L. Rose, MBA VP, Healthcare Resource Group, HealthStream, where she looks ahead at the coming year, with an eye to big picture trends that could have a significant impact on how we provide and experience care.
There Is Also a Physician Shortage
Jeff Lagasse, Associate Editor of Healthcare Finance, sums up the issue of the physician shortage as follows, “The looming physician shortage represents a dire situation for the state of healthcare in the U.S., as many experts predict that demand for health services will soon exceed the industry’s capacity to provide care. The underlying reasons are a complex stew of aging baby boomers, physician burnout, and the widespread closure of rural hospitals, not to mention the declining number of medical residency slots available to new graduates” (Lagasse, 2018).
A new study by the Association of American Medical Colleges (released in 2018) showed statistics that were more ominous than those predicted a year earlier (Gooch, 2018):
Unlike what we have seen with the nursing shortage, the dearth of physicians appears to be more widespread throughout the U.S., with only a handful of states predicted to have a surplus in coming years (DHHS, 2016).
Projected differences between each state’s 2025 supply and its 2025 demand range from a shortage of 3,060 FTE primary care physicians in Florida to a surplus of 890 FTE physicians in Massachusetts. Thirty-seven states are projected to have a shortage of primary care physicians in 2025, with 12 of these states having a deficit of 1,000 or more FTEs (DHHS, 2016).
One recent outcome of the physician shortage is state-to-state competition to entice physicians to stay put after they have finished their training. Medical schools, hospitals, and state legislators are forgiving student loan debt, establishing mentorships, and doing whatever it takes to keep physicians newly finished with their residency in their states. On the high end, California—a state with many open positions—keeps about 70% of residents and fellows trained in-state. Smaller states like New Hampshire, where jobs are more difficult to find, retain 28% of doctors after training (The DO Staff, 2018).
Additional Healthcare Trends to Watch
Other trends identified in this article include:
References
DHHS, “State-Level Projections of Supply and Demand for Primary Care Practitioners: 2013-2025,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Health Resources and Services Administration, National Center for Health Workforce Analysis. 2016, https://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/bhw/health-workforce-analysis/research/projections/primary-care-state-projections2013-2025.pdf
DO Staff, “Physician shortages have states offering perks to new doctors. Is it working?” American Osteopathic Association, Jan. 16, 2018, https://thedo.osteopathic.org/2018/01/physician-shortages-states-offering-perks-new-doctors-working/
Gooch, Kelly, “Why America’s physician shortage could top 120k by 2030: 5 things to know,” Becker’s Hospital Review, April 11, 2018, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-physician-relationships/why-america-s-physician-shortage-could-top-120k-by-2030-5-things-to-know.html
Lagasse, Jeff, ‘Physician shortages mean doctors have to learn to use new technologies,” Healthcare Finance, June 21, 2018, https://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/physician-shortages-mean-doctors-have-learn-use-new-technologies
HealthStream’s learning management system and healthcare training solutions support medical training initiatives and allow for the best patient care.
View All Learning & PerformanceHealthStream offers performance learning management solutions to help develop your healthcare staff into leaders and reduce turnover.
View All ProductsHealthStream works with healthcare organizations to create engaging and high-quality training videos for your staff and management.
View All ProductsImprove care quality and save money by making informed decisions about your healthcare facility and staff with HealthStream's reporting analytics solution.
View All ProductsHealthStream's proven methods for the improvement and overall engagement of your healthcare staff foster a positive workplace and increase retention rates.
View All ProductsWhen you enact HealthStream's quality compliance solutions, you can do so with the confidence your healthcare organization will meet all standards of care.
View All Quality & ComplianceBe confident in your staff’s ability to reduce risk by providing compliance training that changes behavior.
View All ProductsDevelop next-level people for next-level care by prioritizing quality and safety improvements.
View All ProductsEstablish a culture of belonging with education supporting DEI, wellness, engagement, and leadership development.
View All ProductsUtilize patient access solutions and advanced reimbursement solutions to manage clinical denials and improve your organization’s reimbursement strategy.
View All ReimbursementExpand the decision-making skills and effectiveness of your healthcare workforce with HealthStream's clinical development programs and services.
View All Clinical DevelopmentLearn about our advanced resuscitation training solutions. Our solutions are designed to help improve patient outcomes.
View All ProductsOur competency development solutions personalize learning for clinicians to bridge the gap between theory and practice for your nurse residents.
View All ProductsEnhance maternal & child nursing care with solutions focused on improving the quality of care for mothers, infants, and children.
View All ProductsAddress staffing orientation challenges to easily achieve and maintain certification with our emergency and acute care training solutions.
View All ProductsAs a premier provider of healthcare education, we are committed to promoting safer, more successful surgical and sedation outcomes for each and every patient.
View All ProductsOur solutions are designed to cater to the needs of patients, healthcare professionals, and organizations dealing with illnesses or chronic conditions.
View All ProductsMake sure your healthcare staff can schedule out appointments and work schedules with ease using HealthStream's line of software solutions.
View All SchedulingHealthcare workforce management is essential. We provide advanced scheduling solutions for organizations to solve issues such as nurse retention
View All ProductsComprehensive, industry-leading provider onboarding and credentialing software that validate health outcomes and support provider assessment.
View All CredentialingOur affordable CVO credentialing services establish patient safety by enabling primary source verification for your healthcare organization.
View All ProductsIntegrate with Epic to validate and add new providers directly to your provider master file.
View All Products