Christian Macdonald | Senior Marketing Consultant
(877) 456-2867 x4284 |  cmacdonald@deltalocums.com

Uh oh, please not another piece about physician staffing shortages?! 

As I am sure, you’re probably aware about the need of physicians throughout the US, but with all the new debates on Capitol Hill about overhauling the healthcare system, this has reinvigorated my thoughts about the epidemic of physician staffing. Not to beat a dead horse, but this shortage has been growing exponentially fast in family practice and primary care practices. We almost all agree on one point: There are not enough primary care doctors to meet the current needs, let alone the demand of care for tomorrow.

Is there a fix for this? If so, it will require fundamental changes in medical education, and most of all, additional compensation to lure more physicians into primary care offices, who already receive over 215 million visits a year.

The shortage was at approximately 124,000 physicians in 2005. By 2000, 14 percent of U.S. medical school graduates were entering family medicine. Five years later, the figure was 8 percent, and a recent survey of students interested in internal medicine showed that 98 percent wanted to become specialists. I don’t know about you, but those are some scary numbers!

“Why”, do you ask? Well, the main reason is money. Compared to specialized physicians, the average annual income for family physicians is $173,000, while oncologists earn $335,000, radiologists $391,000 and cardiologists $419,000.

Is there a plan in pace? Congress and the administration have moved toward providing incentives for doctors entering residency programs to pursue careers in primary care. Most residency slots are funded through Medicare, giving the government a stick to wield over residency administrators, and changes in Medicare reimbursement alluded to by President Obama could be the hypothetical carrot that makes primary care more attractive.

In layman’s terms, if you decide to be a PC doctor, then you will be rewarded a whole lot more than in the past.

What about NOW???? The immediate solution for many facilities throughout the nation has been an increase in locum tenens providers, temporary to permanent opportunities, increase of compensation, flexibility of schedule, among several other factors.

As many people and companies do all they can to help subsidize their monetary ailments, the physician staffing industry has not felt the economic stresses of a depressed market. Thank goodness, because I am planning a wedding. Is anyone moving forward in this economy?

The shining star in the current market would be for the locum tenens physician, and locum tenens companies. Facilities that are desperate to recruit a permanent physician are turning to locums to fill the gaps in their recruiting needs until they can find a more permanent solution. These jobs will be easier to find, you don’t have to sell your home to work locums, and the locum tenens company is picking up your malpractice costs. If you are a medical practice, hospital or health system with critical recruiting needs, you may want to consider utilizing locum tenens physicians to fill your needs for the near future. In some cases you may find a permanent hire and this is a good way to find out if a physician is “a good fit” with your practice because you get to see them in action before you hire them permanently.

Will any of this be the remedy for fulfilling the need for additional primary-care physicians as we get older? Only time will tell…until then, need a doctor?

Sources
The American Academy of Family Physicians
Association of American Medical Colleges