Fill gaps in physician supply

The wisdom of depending on International Medical School Graduates (IMGs) to fill gaps in physician supply, while US medical schools hold class size constant, is questionable. In addition, the aging of the physician workforce, the decreasing hours worked by both physicians in practice and physicians in residency, and a 20 percent reduction in the effort of the increasing proportion of minority physicians, will result in a significant decrease in the “effective” supply of physicians. Should the gap be filled by a major substitution of nurse practitioners, physician assistants, chiropractors, acupuncturists, and others, or are there alternatives?

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