In its June 2021 physician supply and demand report, “The Complexities of Physician Supply and Demand: Projections From 2019 to 2034” (the “Report”), the Association of American Medical Colleges (“AAMC”) highlights the ongoing concern of physician shortages in the United States. According to the Report, the U.S. faces a potential physician shortage of between 37,800 to 124,000 doctors by 2034. While an improvement from AAMC’s June 2020 report, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the consequences of failing to address this problem, as medical schools and teaching hospitals were forced to graduate medical students early, and hospitals scrambled to call up retired physicians and to pay steep travel and relocation rates, all to address the public health emergency.
Continue Reading Congressional Action in the Face of Mounting Concerns Regarding Current and Future Physician Shortages