Study Finds Impending Shortage of Adult Primary Care Physicians
"Will Generalist Physician Supply Meet Demands of an Increasing and Aging Population?" Health Affairs: The study by Jack Colwill, a professor emeritus of family and community medicine at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and colleagues predicts that by 2025, the U.S. will experience a shortage of 35,000 to 44,000 physicians practicing family or general internal medicine who provide care for adults. The study also predicts that population growth and aging will increase family physicians' and general internists' workloads by 29% between 2005 and 2025. The researchers project that the country will be able to maintain an adequate supply of generalist care for children provided by physicians practicing family medicine and general pediatrics (Health Affairs release, 4/29).
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