Mass. Continues To Face Doctor Shortage
As the state faced shortages of primary care physicians for the eighth consecutive year, Worcester County was the third most difficult region in Massachusetts to recruit and retain physicians, according to a new Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) study.
The 2013 Physician Workforce Study found that 57 percent of physicians in the area reported an inadequate pool of physicians, while 30 percent said it was significantly difficult to fill vacancies. Meanwhile, 43 percent said it was more difficult to retain staff.
The 12th annual study looked at topics such as supply of physicians; recruitment and retention; satisfaction with the profession and practice environment; familiarity with health care reform efforts; the impact of professional liability concerns on the practice of medicine; and knowledge of and willingness to participate in global payment programs and accountable care organizations (ACOs).
The study showed stark differences in recruitment and retention among the state’s five labor markets. The data said it was three times more difficult in the Pittsfield/Western Massachusetts market to recruit and retain doctors as in the Boston area. The fewest problems with retention and recruitment were reported in the New Bedford/Barnstable region.
MMS President Dr. Ronald Dunlap said the study revealed continued difficulties as well as improvements within the physician labor force. Overall, critical or severe shortages were reported for family medicine, internal medicine, neurology and gastroenterology.
“The supply of physicians in the state remains under stress, notably with primary care, and recruitment and retention continue to be difficult, especially for less populated areas of the state,” Dunlap said. “On the plus side, physician satisfaction with the profession remains high, more physicians are becoming familiar with reform initiatives, such as global payments and accountable care organizations, and more physicians indicated they are likely to move to global payments to reduce health care costs.”
The percentage of physicians who said they were likely to participate in voluntary global payment systems rose 5 percent over last year, to 54 percent, the study found. And, physicians employed by others are more likely than self-employed doctors to participate in a global payment system, by 61 to 44 percent.
Meanwhile, 71 percent of phsyicians said they’re familiar with ACOs, with 42 percent of them participating in one.
Less than half of physicians polled (43 percent) said they were satisfied with the practice environment in the state; 39 percent said they’re dissatisfied.
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