Rethinking the shortage of primary care physicians.

Abstract

For decades, public concerns about a shortage of physicians led federal and state policy makers to pursue policies to increase the number of medical graduates. In response, the number of medical schools increased dramatically over the past decade. By 2016, the United States produced more new physicians than ever before. Expanding medical school enrollments, however, were not matched by a corresponding increase in the number of physicians choosing primary care. To date, few policy makers questioned the conventional wisdom that more is better when it comes to the supply of primary care physicians. Instead, policy makers should consider alternative approaches to increase access to patient-centered primary care.