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Editor’s Column
The Growing Physician Shortage is
leaving us... Short!
T. Jann Caison-Sorey, MD, MBA
Michigan Physician Workforce... How are we Doing?
Upon completion of the long road that physicians travel to reach their ultimate goal we say congratulations! Becoming
a physician has been and still is one of the most challenging
and demanding career paths you can embark upon. It requires extensive and not to overlook, expensive schooling followed by intensive residencies, fellowship, research endeavors and much more before one is fully trained and can be on their own. The idea, generally, is that all the hard work will pay off not only financially, but also in terms of job fulfillment and work-life balance. There is also the immeasurable personal satisfaction
of helping people and saving lives. In terms of both nobility and prestige, few occupations rank as high. Despite the lure however, of becoming a physician, there is irrefutable evidence of a growing physician shortage.
Studies show that the United States will see a shortage of up
to nearly 122,000 physicians by 2032 as demand for physicians continues to grow faster than the current projected supply. According to new data published by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the projected shortfall is similar to past projections and ranges from 46,900 to 121,900 physicians. Our population is aging, and health conditions are at risk for being more advanced and complex at time of presentation.
Additionally, economic trends are having an impact on access
to care for those already at highest risk. This divide appears
to be growing wider despite our efforts to improve the overall physical and mental wellbeing of our patients and for ourselves as physicians. A physician shortage can adversely impact long term national health care goals for improvement. These factors and others mean we will need more doctors,” said AAMC President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, MD. “Even with new ways of delivering care, America’s doctor shortage continues to remain real and significant.”
There are many methodologies used to gauge these types
of shortages, some are more familiar than others. Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) designations are used to find areas and population groups within the United States that are experiencing a shortage of health professionals. There are three categories of HPSA designations based on the health discipline that is experiencing a shortage: 1) primary-medical; 2) dental; and 3) mental health. The primary factor used to figure out an HPSA designation is the number of health professionals relative to the population with consideration of high need. Federal regulations stipulate that, in order to be considered as having a shortage of providers, an area must have a population- to-provider ratio of a certain threshold. For primary medical care, the population to provider ratio must be at least 3,500 to 1
4 Detroit Medical News
Third Quarter 2022