Causes
How do high med-school costs and few admissions add to doctor shortages?
They limit how many new doctors can train, slowing the replacement of retiring physicians
What happens to patients when there are not enough doctors?
They wait longer and get less routine or preventive care.
Which OECD country has the lowest doctor rate at 2.5 per 1,000 people?
South Korea
What is one basic supply-side way to reduce physician shortages?
Add more med-school seats or residency spots
How can we reduce demand for in-person physician services without lowering health?
Use telehealth
How does doctor burnout make shortages worse in urban and rural areas?
Burnout leads doctors to cut hours, leave jobs, or quit medicine, adding more stress to the doctors who remain
Why do ERs get more crowded when primary care is limited?
Patients’ problems worsen until they must go to the ER
In Hong Kong, long public wait times happen because many doctors work in which sector?
The private sector
How can expanding scope-of-practice laws reduce shortages?
By letting NPs and PAs do more care and ease physician workload
Why is the residency cap the biggest bottleneck in fixing shortages?
Graduates can’t practice without residency, so the cap limits new doctors
Why does an aging doctor population create a long-term workforce problem?
Older doctors retire faster than new ones enter, reducing supply while patient demand grows.
What does it mean that 76.3 million Americans live in primary-care shortage areas?
Many people can’t see needed doctors, which worsens untreated conditions
In Britain, doctors leave because they lack control over what part of their job?
Their hours
What is one demand-side strategy that decreases demand for physicians?
Strengthening preventive care
Why did the U.S. set an 80-hour limit for residents in 2003?
To cut fatigue-related errors
How do pay gaps across medical fields affect where doctors choose to work?
Students pick higher-paying fields to cover their debt, leaving fewer doctors in lower-paid areas like primary care.
How does the shortage affect doctor workload and patient safety?
Fewer doctors handle more patients, causing stress, burnout, and more errors
Germany’s shortage worsened after switching to what system?
The DRG system
How does cutting administrative tasks help reduce shortages?
It frees physician time to see more patients.
What did the Brigham & Women’s study find about long shifts?
Long shifts cause more medical errors
How do strict state rules for nurse practitioners and PAs add pressure on physician supply?
Limits on what NPs and PAs can do force doctors to handle basic tasks instead of focusing on complex care
How does the shortage hurt rural healthcare?
Heavy work and low pay make doctors leave, creating high turnover and leaving communities without care
South Korea faces pushback on expanding med-school spots because of what strict limit?
A fixed quota
Why can shorter physician hours improve care but worsen shortages?
Less fatigue means fewer errors, but fewer total physician hours
What were the average primary-care visits per person in 2021 in the U.S. and Korea?
Korea: 15.7; U.S.: 3.4