Aging workforce of United States physicians – something to ponder

Muhammad Nabeel

doi:10.15761/csrr.1000108

Abstract

Aging workforce of United States physicians – something to ponder

Highlights

About one in four U.S physicians are older than 65, and the number of doctors in this age bracket more than quadrupled between 1975 and 2013 [1]
There is growing emphasis on “physician burn out”, “patient safety”, “value-based care”, “health information technology” and “integration of care”, at the same time we must remain cognizant of the disproportional workforce of aging physicians asked to carry out these challenging tasks for the populace
While physicians get evaluated during residency and fellowship training in multiple competencies, but once they become credentialed and licensed to practice independently, ongoing licensure status is maintained through continuing medical education (CME) credits and credentialing through an absence of significant issue identified by respective institution accreditation program requirements

Summary

Introduction

About one in four U.S physicians are older than 65, and the number of doctors in this age bracket more than quadrupled between 1975 and 2013 [1]. While physicians get evaluated during residency and fellowship training in multiple competencies, but once they become credentialed and licensed to practice independently, ongoing licensure status is maintained through continuing medical education (CME) credits and credentialing through an absence of significant issue identified by respective institution accreditation program requirements. The ultimate goal of a competency assessment program is to improve patient safety, reduce cost, and enhance the population health [3] It is unclear if OPPE and FPPE are well equipped to handle the challenges that health industry faces with increasingly aging physician population. Formal guidelines on the timing and content of testing for competence can be deliberated and, by being more transparent with a standard evaluation process the aging physicians can continue to practice without a fear of worsening limited supply of physician workforce. In the Report 5 put out by AMA in 2015, Council of Medical Education concluded that physicians should be allowed to remain in practice if patient safety is not endangered and that, if needed, remediation should be a supportive, ongoing and proactive process [12]

Conclusion

Findings

Competency and retirement