NAVIGATING THE PHYSICIAN SHORTAGE IN THE US HEALTHCARE SYSTEM

How should healthcare systems in the US navigate physician shortage? The COVID-19 pandemic drew attention to this shortage, but other long-term challenges, such as an aging baby-boomer population and climate change, may further stress physician supply. These shortages are occurring at uneven rates across the US, especially in relation to geographic region and practice. A team studied relevant peer-reviewed literature and industry and government reports from the past ten years, and explored a variety of operational and technological solutions that healthcare systems can leverage to manage local physician shortages. However, in this uncertain and evolving environment, organizational strategies alone cannot remediate the national shortage. The team recommends a push for federal and state policy changes to enhance clinical worker pipelines, incentivize the equitable geographic distribution of clinical workers, and increase access to telehealth solutions.