• U.S. physicians say their workplaces are trying to hire more workers to help meet demand for services, but a lack of qualified talent is stymieing efforts. [Healthcare Dive]
• In a new survey of 1,001 physicians conducted by Medscape, 63% of respondents said there was a lack of qualified physicians available in their local job market, and 30% said application quality for open doctor roles had declined recently.
• Many don’t see the situation improving: Nearly 6 in 10 respondents described themselves as “very unconfident” or “unconfident” that progress could be made on the physician labor shortage over the next decade.

Dive Insight:

The Medscape report is the latest analysis to underscore that, although the healthcare labor market has improved since the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare providers are still struggling to fill positions.

Nearly 70% of survey respondents said their workplace was actively attempting to hire doctors either full- or part-time. Hospitals and healthcare organizations were more likely to hire than office-based practices, which could be due to patients seeking out care at larger organizations, according to the report.

Most said their workplace sought to fill less than five roles. The relatively low number of open roles is somewhat “reassuring,” according to Maddi Davidson, principal and senior director of market access with Avalere Health, who was interviewed by Medscape for the report.

She said that fewer than five openings could be attributed to natural turnover. Six or more openings in smaller practices or 20-plus open roles at large care settings would signify a more systemic mismatch between labor supply and demand.

More>

###