Predicted shortages of physicians might even disappear if we fully account for PAs and NPs.
Healthcare workforce projections have important policy implications. Provider shortages can shortchange patients, and overproduction of providers imposes costs on society. The most publicized physician supply and demand projections, commissioned annually by the Association of American Medical Colleges, regularly predict dire physician shortages. These projections are based on unrealistically low estimates of the amount of physician work that can be replaced by physician assistants (PAs) and NPs. For example, the projections factor in the contribution of one primary care PA or NP as one-fourth that of a physician. If workforce projections used evidence-based productivity estimates, the predicted physician shortfalls would be much smaller and perhaps even disappear.
Duke Scholars
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- United States
- Primary Health Care
- Physicians
- Physician Assistants
- Nurse Practitioners
- Humans
- Health Workforce
- Health Services Needs and Demand
- 4205 Nursing
- 3202 Clinical sciences
Citation
Published In
DOI
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Location
Related Subject Headings
- United States
- Primary Health Care
- Physicians
- Physician Assistants
- Nurse Practitioners
- Humans
- Health Workforce
- Health Services Needs and Demand
- 4205 Nursing
- 3202 Clinical sciences