The United States is facing a physician shortage, and the demand for physicians will increase far more rapidly than the supply under current standards. By 2025, there will be a shortage of at least 124,000 physicians by baseline projections. The physician population most greatly affected by this shortage is primary care physicians.
Primary care physicians are the “first contact” physicians responsible for providing comprehensive, coordinated, and continuous care for a patient’s health care needs. This includes care for all stages of life, acute care, chronic care, preventive service, and end-of-life care. Primary care physicians are best-suited to take care of the nation’s increasing aging population.
Without a robust primary care physician workforce, the nation’s health care system will become increasingly fragmented and inefficient. As a result, increasing access to high quality and affordable health care will not be possible.
In response to this projected physician workforce shortage, the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM) has finalized its consensus statement, “Meeting the Nation’s Need for Physician Services: A Response to the Anticipated Physician Shortage.” The statement was written by members of the AAIM Advocacy Committee and endorsed by AAIM’s member organizations, the Association of Professors of Medicine, Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine, Association of Specialty Professors, Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine, and Administrators of Internal Medicine. The summary of the statement is posted online for your review.