This article from healthcare.com written by Emily O’Brien discusses the demand for physicians within the Health Care industry.
Data published by the Association of American Colleges (AAMC) in June 2021 suggests that the United States could see an estimated shortage of between 37,800 and 124,000 physicians by 2034. The purpose of the yearly study is to update and improve workforce projections, present new analyses, and identify future directions for research.
This numbers include deficits across the medical spectrum, in primary and specialty care. In primary care alone, the shortage is expected to fall between 17,800 and 48,000 physicians by 2034. For non-primary care specialties, the shortage is anticipated to be between 21,000 and 77,100 physicians, including a shortage of between 15,800 and 30,200 for surgical specialties.
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AAMC President and CEO David J. Skorton, MD, said in a statement, “This annual analysis continues to show that our country will face a significant shortage of physicians in the coming years. The gap between the country’s increasing healthcare demands and the supply of doctors to adequately respond has become more evident as we continue to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The challenge of having enough doctors to serve our communities will get even worse as the nation’s population continues to grow and age.”
