The Affordable Healthcare Act has opened up opportunities for many citizens across the United States. Since the bill passed in 2010, the United States Health Department has recorded “about 16.4 million uninsured people have gained health coverage” (2014). Now that many people have been granted the chance to receive a regular check-up from the doctor’s office or go to the emergency room to receive urgent care, there are not enough primary health care professionals to assist those who are in need. The shortage of health care professionals has become a rising problem in the United States. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) over the next 10 years the United States is expected to have a shortage of primary care doctors …show more content…
As years have passed college has become more and more expensive. Medical school graduates, graduate with over $150,000 in debt, thus having a major influence on the career’s that these students choose to take (Christian, 2011, pg.30). The outrageous debt these doctors take on influence them to specialize in different medical fields that will bring in more money. Lauren Silverman, author of “The Cure for a Doctor Shortage: Primary Care and Teamwork”, states that “last year, across the country, the average specialist earned $284,000. The average primary care doc? $195,000. So, selling recent graduates on family practice isn’t easy” (2016). An easier solution to convincing medical students to take the roll of being a primary care physicians is to raise the amount of money they are reimbursed. Primary care physicians are just as important as a specialist. Without a regular check-up to a primary care physician, there would not be a need for specialist. Primary care physicians are usually the first to find a problem with the patient, “It is folly to think that reading a CT scan takes any more skill than separating out a case of lung cancer from the common cold in the doctor’s office” (Christian, 2011, pg. 31). Although this solution will not fix the problem, it is a start to closing the gap on decreasing the shortage of primary care …show more content…
Many medical centers and doctors’ office have opened positions to nurse practitioners to help fill the shortage. Dr. Thomas Bodenheimer, a professor of family and community medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, quoted that “nurse practitioners could be a huge, huge solution to this problem of primary care shortage” in the article “Bracing for Obamacare: Nurse practitioners fill doc shortage gap” by Jonel Aleccia. Nurse Practitioners, are trained to perform the same task that family doctors learn, but sometimes are limited depending on the state that they live in. Texas and eleven other states have strict limitations on their nurse practitioners. Limitations include, that the practitioner must work under the supervision of a physicians, practitioners can only prescribe under the supervision of a physicians and one physician can only supervise four practitioners at a time. Even though physicians do not have to be physically present the NP must always be in contact with the physician. Because of the limitations that are put on nurse practitioners, those who are very ill must be treated by the doctor. According to Hines, many practitioners feel “broader oversight of their work is necessary to alleviate a state health care shortage that's leaving thousands of people without doctors.” (2013) Legislation in Austin has been
Primary care physicians are on the lower end of the totem pole when it comes to ranking doctors, and on top of that they typically make less money than most specialties. Are these the reasons that medical students are deterred from family practice? A group of researchers set out to find out. Michael Compton and his colleagues surveyed hundreds of students over the course of their time in medical school and found that “students wanting a high-prestige career were more likely to be interested in a non- primary care specialty than a primary care specialty” (1099). In other words, medical students looking for a prestigious
The aim of the ACA is to provide affordable health care to all Americans, but it still leaves some issues unaddressed that will impact the access to health care. Covino (n.d.), “Though the intentions of the legislation are good, the Affordable Care Act does little to improve the actual health care delivery system” (para.1, page 2). According to the American Medical Association, we are facing an increasing Physician shortage. As of 2010 we faced a shortfall of 13,700 physicians, the estimate is that number will increase to 62,900 by 2015, 91,500 by 2020, and 130,600 by 2025 (Krupa, n.d.), with primary care taking the largest impact. Health Care coverage will be of no benefit if there are no doctors to treat the patients. An example of this occurred in 2002 when Thailand’s’ “30 Bhat Scheme” added (CNN n.d.) “14 million people to the country’s health care system, resulting in long waits and subpar service” (Your health is covered, but who is going to treat you?) Several factors contribute to the physician shortage. Many physicians are reaching the age of retirement, the Association of American Medical Colleges estimates nearly 15 million physicians will be eligible for Medicare in the coming years (CNN n.d.). The increasing cost of malpractice insurance also deters many from pursuing a career in medicine, and is forcing some doctors to retire. Also contributing to the physician shortage is a lack of spots in residency programs. “In 2011, more than 7,000 were left
According to Health Resources and Services Administration If the system for providing primary care in 2020 were to stay fundamentally the same as today, there will be an estimated shortage of 20,400 primary care physicians ("Projecting the Supply and Demand for Primary Care Practitioners Through 2020," n.d.). In addition this projection doesn’t include the decreasing number of people perusing the medical degree and the baby boomers retiring form this filed of science. In the hand we are experiencing a significant increase in NPs and PAs. Considering this projected shortage, which is actually a very frightening situation the increasing number of NPs and PAs, can effectively be integrated; we could reduce the number of physician shortage by over 69 percent in 2020.
Today, the United States is facing a shortage of about 16,000 primary care physicians and this number will continue to grow by 2025 (Amirault, 2014). Primary care physicians (PCPs) are the doctors who focus on overall health and offer the treatments and preventive screenings that save lives. A physician shortage is a situation in which there are not enough providers to treat all patients in need of medical care. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has long pointed out that the shortage of primary care physicians will be a major setback for the American healthcare system advancing (Amirault, 2014). The shortage of primary care providers presents
The United States health care system is currently facing a projected shortage of up to 94,700 physicians by 2025, a number which has been exacerbated by policies within the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Current policies established or proposed to address this issue have been either insufficient in scope or lacked necessary funding for successful implementation. In order to assure quality and adequate access to health care for all individuals, new policies are desperately needed to both increase the physician population in the future and provide solutions until the need can be met. Recommendations to address this issue include increasing the team-based care structure within primary care, reducing the current limitations on non-physician practitioners, and increasing the number of residency positions offered through graduate medical education.
Communities across America face a shortage of doctors. At only 2.56 physicians per 1000 people, America ranks 23rd out of 28 nations reporting data on practicing physicians (Carroll). This shortage is expected to increase as the aging Baby Boomer generation is expected to contribute to a doctor shortage of up to 90,000 physicians by the year 2025 (Carroll). This shortage is most evident in rural areas and cities that are less popular to live in. As the need for doctors continues to increase, America is also producing fewer medical graduates. Out of 35 nations that report data on graduation rates in the medical field America ranks 30th (Carroll). The effect that doctor shortages will have on the health of American citizens will be detrimental. America cannot meet its demand for doctors without looking beyond its borders. The Good Neighbor Nextdoor program will bring the needed doctors in to communities in desperate need of medical
According to projections by the Association of American Medical Colleges, the nation will be short more than 90,000 physicians by 2020 and 130,000 physicians by 2025. Everyone deserves a better health maintenance, but sometimes there are not enough providers to make it happen. In the last two decades, the United States and some cities around the world have faced some serious problems because of the shortage in their health system structure. A shortage is when something in a certain area is not sufficient when it is the most desirable. That is the same thing that the country has experienced recently. There is a lack of physicians and nurses, who also characterize the primary care providers in the nation. The shortage results
Cost-benefit analysis is used to help decide whether or not to continue with a project, essentially weighing the pros and cons related to benefits versus the cost of achieving the desired result. Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is a technique used to compare the total costs of a program/project with its benefits (Oxford, n.d.).
2. Importance of topic? Its important to understand that the Association of American Medical Colleges estimates that by 2015 the nation will face a shortage of 62,100 physicians — 33,100 primary care practitioners and 29,000 other specialists (Iglehart, 2013). Also it should be noted that 15 million uninsured persons will secure coverage in 2014, and that number will increase to 35 million by 2016 (Iglehart, 2013).
This revolution in health care has resulted in an increased demand of primary care physicians due to the creation of more job openings for health care professionals. A sudden surge in demand for health care professionals such as nurse practitioner and physician assistants has arisen in the past few years. According to “Advanced Practice Trends 2012-2013”, a report published by Jackson Healthcare, job growth in nursing is expected to increase by 27% (Jackson Healthcare). While this may be beneficial for aspiring nurses and physician assistants, it may contribute to the primary care physician shortage as the supply of physicians will not be able to meet these demands. In an effort to reduce this shortage, the Health Resources and Services Administration provided over $75 million to the training of nurse practitioners and physician assistants. This is meant to encourage more medical students to specialize in primary care because of the rise in well-trained nurses. As expected, the AAMC addressed this issue in their 2015 report “The Complexities of Physician Supply and Demand: Projections Through 2025”. After extensive research and data collection, the AAMC reported that demand for physicians would decrease by a large margin if nurse practitioners and physician assistants “play a larger role in patient care”. While the expansion of health care may
In the United States, the number of physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants is not growing as quickly as needed. By 2025, it has been predicted that the United States will face an increase in shortage of 46,100 to 90,400 physicians. The growth of nurse practitioners and physician assistants was projected to diminish the shortage of physicians, which will require patient and health system acceptance and more available jobs in health care services. The critical increase of need for specialists in the recent years caused so much attention, and the demand was said to grow more rapidly than the supply. The shortage of available physicians in the United States has led to the aging and growing patient population, connected by the expansion of healthcare coverage to deprive of timely healthcare services.
Cost benefiting is a positive financial investment overall. Economically there will be less time and more productive work with less errors and stress put on clinical staff resulting in time off and time lost. Clinical documentation systems save in staffing costs bring down overall overhead costs. There seems to be a huge cost associated with medication expenditures and without missed documentation or wasted, missing, over medicating or duplication the electronic system would generate huge cost saving in this area. Another area of cost cutting would be decreased billing
In pursuing my professional goal (what goal?) as one of the minority nurse educators and scholars specialized in curriculum and instruction, I enrolled in one of the excellent doctoral programs at the University of Arkansas. I have completed my course work and passed my comprehensive examination in fall 2015. Coming from a low-income Asian immigrant family and being the first in my family to attend and graduate from college and without debt, my family, friends, dissertation committee, and employer have been providing moral support for me to complete my doctoral program. My friends, colleagues, and supervisors attest my diligent and commitment in my achieving my professional goal. However, I have encountered financial challenges in completing
It is hard to believe that my year of service is soon coming to an end, it seems not too long ago I was reviewing my VAD and wondering how I was going to be able to complete with success the task outlined. The thought of it all was overwhelming yet a welcomed challenge as I knew the outcome would be playing a part in increased food security for families who depend on both food pantries I am serving at as well as continued sustainability for the pantries.
Local libraries serve as a necessity for students and members of the society because to a certain extent, it offers services that they can shared at no cost. Local libraries exist because individual demand these services to be available. Although there might not be individuals who need to visit a library, the truth is that some do need to access resources in the library. When you said that “the book buying market has dwindled down over the last few years with major bookstore chains closing, such as Borders,” it made me curious to find out why Borders went out of business. Borders went out of business mainly, because they outsourced its online sales functions to Amazon, operated e-books to late and invested too much money in music sales (Why Borders Failed While Barnes & Noble Survived, 2011). This scenario lets us know that individuals are more likely to shop online. Furthermore, as digital technology advances, local libraries know that they also have to adapt and implement any source of digital trends such as e-books in their website so individuals can have access to it. When local libraries diversify well, it brings the possibility of everyone receiving the services.