California physician supply and distribution: headed for a drought?
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Author(s):
- Coffman, Janet M., author Fix, Margaret, author Ko, Michelle, author
- Contributor(s):
- California HealthCare Foundation, issuing body.
- Publication:
- [Oakland, Calif.] : California Health Care Foundation, June 2018
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Health Workforce -- statistics & numerical data Physicians -- supply & distribution Physicians, Family -- supply & distribution Demography Medicaid -- statistics & numerical data Medicine -- statistics & numerical data State Government Humans California United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- This report describes the number of licensed physicians in California in 2015, including their practice activities, demographic characteristics, and geographic distribution. Data were derived from the Medical Board of California's mandatory survey for relicensure and a voluntary supplemental survey conducted in 2015. Where data from 2013 were available, changes from 2013 to 2015 were included. Key Findings. Less than half of the 139,000 medical doctors licensed by the state of California (61,196) could be identified as active patient care physicians (physicians who provided 20 or more hours per week of patient care in California). Some physicians with California licenses did not practice in California. Others did not renew their licenses within the two-year period required under California law. Some were completing residency or fellowship training. The total supply of active patient care physicians declined slightly between 2013 and 2015. This trend appears to be driven by the aging of the physician workforce. Older physicians reported spending fewer hours per week on patient care, and were the most likely to report providing no patient care at all. The percentage of active patient care physicians over age 60 declined by eight percentage points between 2013 and 2015, while the percentage of active patient care physicians in other age groups remained stable. Female and male physicians engaged in patient care at similar rates. A slightly higher percentage of females reported spending at least 20 hours per week on patient care (81% of females versus 78% of males). Latinos and African Americans were substantially underrepresented in the physician workforce. Five percent of active patient care physicians reported Latino ethnicity, versus 38% for the general population. Three percent of physicians were African American, versus 6% of the general population. Thirty-two percent of California's active patient care physicians were primary care physicians (defined as family physicians, general internists, general pediatricians, and general practitioners). Recommendations. To address the challenges in California physician supply and distribution identified in this study, the authors offer the following recommendations: (1) Increase funding to expand undergraduate medical education, particularly in underserved areas. (2) Increase funding to expand graduate medical education, particularly in specialties with projected shortages. (3) Provide financial incentives for both primary care and specialty physicians to practice in underserved areas. (4) Support opportunities for international medical graduates to practice in underserved areas of the state. (5) Increase investments in programs that address the diversity of the physician workforce. (6) Invest in technologies, such as telehealth and electronic consultation and referral, that can maximize scarce physician resources, especially for rural areas. (6) Provide training, support, and incentives for team-based care.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-ND license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (27 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 101744513 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101744513