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The eMatchPhysicians Blog

The Physician Shortage – The Proof That We Will Have One

Posted on: Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Experts believe that we are facing a physician shortage over the next 15 years. One study in particular was published by Edward Salsberg, a respected specialist in issues related to the physician workforce. It states that there will be a shortage of 200,000 physicians by the year 2020 if current trends continue in the health care marketplace. This study effectively ended the arguments of those who were arguing that there was a physician surplus.

Most notably, The Council on Graduate Medical Education endorsed the Salsberg report in 2003. This council of healthcare experts reports to Congress on issues that effect healthcare on a regular basis. The AMA has also abandoned its position that there is a surplus of physicians.

Now that everyone agrees on the fact that there will be a physician shortage, the question is exactly what to do about it. 85% of hospital organizations report that they are actively recruiting physicians, something that the remaining 15% probably want to consider doing as well. The shortage has changed how health care human resources departments do business. Where in the past the assumption was that you were lucky to get a job as a physician, the skew is now towards the need to attract physicians to your organization.

The sooner your organization department jumps on the need to recruit, the better off you will be. In the coming years, other health care organizations will be stepping up recruitment efforts and if you aren’t careful, your organization will be left behind. There is still a battle raging in many health care boardrooms over whether or not there is a physician shortage, mostly because it is easier to be a buyer in a buyer’s market than it is to be a seller. If you have colleagues that still maintain that there is a surplus of physicians, present them with the relevant studies that have made the AMA and COGME change their minds in order to get them on to the same page.

Some key reasons that there is a physician shortage are:

-Population Growth
-Aging Population
-Economic Factors
-Dimishing Supply through attrition and fewer new entrants
-More temporary physicians

There are more that are referenced in the study, but these are some of the major factors that are contributing to the shortage.

New Technologies

eMatchPhysicians and other new technologies can keep your organization on the leading edge of recruitment. eMatchPhysicians can deliver potential candidates to your inbox while you attend the other duties that we all know are filling your schedule. You may also want to consider technologies that allow you to interview candidates remotely through videoconferencing such as GoToMeeting.com and Skype. Many candidates may not be willing to travel to every opportunity they hear about, but they may be willing to entertain more opportunities through video conferencing. Then if they do choose to visit, you will already have established a strong, genuine interest.

Tags: healthcare jobs, physician jobs, physician recruitment, physician workforce

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