• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

  • Opinion
  • Health IT
    • Behavioral Health
    • Care Coordination
    • EMR/EHR
    • Interoperability
    • Patient Engagement
    • Population Health Management
    • Revenue Cycle Management
    • Social Determinants of Health
  • Digital Health
    • AI
    • Blockchain
    • Precision Medicine
    • Telehealth
    • Wearables
  • Startups
  • M&A
  • Value-based Care
    • Accountable Care (ACOs)
    • Medicare Advantage
  • Life Sciences
  • Research

Clinician Shortage Worsens Primary Care Crisis, Experts Reveal

by Fred Pennic 10/27/2023 Leave a Comment

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Print

What You Should Know:

– The U.S. has seen a consistent decline in primary care clinicians since 2014 due to fewer clinicians entering the workforce, increased rates of burnout and decreased direct patient care, according to the latest evidence report from the Primary Care Collaborative and Robert Graham Center.

– The report, Health is Primary: Charting a Path to Equity and Sustainability reveals the United States has seen a consistent decrease in the number of primary care clinicians since 2014, caused by a decline in the number of clinicians entering primary care, burnout leading to retirement, and decreased direct patient care time. In 2019, there was a net loss of 10 clinicians per 100,000 people across the United States. Spending on primary care fell from an average of 6.2% in 2013 to 4.6% in 2020. 

Multifaceted Approach to Rebuild Primary Care

Experts recommend a multifaceted approach to rebuilding primary care that outlines steps policymakers, providers, and employers can take, including:

– Offering more primary care training opportunities and incentives for clinicians to select primary care as a specialty,

– Collecting accurate and transparent workforce and primary care financing data,

– Establishing a hybrid primary care payment option alternative to fee-for-service for accountable care organizations (ACOs) in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) and more broadly across public and private programs, 

– Crafting solutions to mitigate the primary care barriers of high deductible health plans, and

– Supporting today’s primary care workforce by lowering administrative burdens and building diverse teams to address the range of patient primary care needs.

Having access to a regular source of primary care is associated with fewer emergency department visits and hospitalizations, lower odds of dying prematurely, and lower healthcare costs. Data from MSSP, Medicare’s largest ACO program serving 11 million beneficiaries, consistently indicates that primary care-focused ACOs (more than 75% of clinicians are primary care) provide higher-value services on a population basis, producing more than twice the savings as hospital-based ACOs. In 2022, MSSP saved Medicare $1.8 billion.

Factors Contributing to Primary Care Access Issues

The report examines the supply and demand factors that contribute to primary care access issues. It also considers innovations such as direct primary care, telehealth, and retail clinics that aim to provide more equitable access but may pose unintended community-level financial burdens and access issues. Despite increased uptake of these care options, one-in-four U.S. residents currently do not have a relationship with a primary care clinician, and 40% of adults in the United States failed to have a primary care visit in 2019. These trends have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting that the situation may be more dire than the report’s data reflect.

“High-tech healthcare grabs the headlines, but high-touch, personalized primary care with tech support keeps people healthier at a lower cost,” said Ann Greiner, president and CEO of PCC. “If we are serious about improving the health of everyone in every community, policymakers need to step up to strengthen primary care, making it attractive to clinicians and delivering what patients want – comprehensive team-based care.”

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Print

Tagged With: Primary Care, Primary Care Clinics

Tap Native

Get in-depth healthcare technology analysis and commentary delivered straight to your email weekly

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to HIT Consultant

Latest insightful articles delivered straight to your inbox weekly.

Submit a Tip or Pitch

Featured Insights

2025 EMR Software Pricing Guide

2025 EMR Software Pricing Guide

Featured Interview

Paradigm Shift in Diabetes Care with Studio Clinics: Q&A with Reach7 Founder Chun Yong

Most-Read

Medtronic to Separate Diabetes Business into New Standalone Company

Medtronic to Separate Diabetes Business into New Standalone Company

White House, IBM Partner to Fight COVID-19 Using Supercomputers

HHS Sets Pricing Targets for Trump’s EO on Most-Favored-Nation Drug Pricing

23andMe to Mine Genetic Data for Drug Discovery

Regeneron to Acquire Key 23andMe Assets for $256M, Pledges Continuity of Consumer Genome Services

CureIS Healthcare Sues Epic: Alleges Anti-Competitive Practices & Trade Secret Theft

The Evolving Role of Physician Advisors: Bridging the Gap Between Clinicians and Administrators

The Evolving Physician Advisor: From UM to Value-Based Care & AI

UnitedHealth Group Names Stephen Hemsley CEO as Andrew Witty Steps Down

UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty Steps Down, Stephen Hemsley Returns as CEO

Omada Health Files for IPO

Omada Health Files for IPO

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Launches "CloseKnit" Virtual-First Primary Care Option

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Launches “CloseKnit” Virtual-First Primary Care Option

Osteoboost Launches First FDA-Cleared Prescription Wearable Nationwide to Combat Low Bone Density

Osteoboost Launches First FDA-Cleared Prescription Wearable Nationwide to Combat Low Bone Density

2019 MedTech Breakthrough Award Category Winners Announced

MedTech Breakthrough Announces 2025 MedTech Breakthrough Award Winners

Secondary Sidebar

Footer

Company

  • About Us
  • Advertise with Us
  • Reprints and Permissions
  • Submit An Op-Ed
  • Contact
  • Subscribe

Editorial Coverage

  • Opinion
  • Health IT
    • Care Coordination
    • EMR/EHR
    • Interoperability
    • Population Health Management
    • Revenue Cycle Management
  • Digital Health
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Blockchain Tech
    • Precision Medicine
    • Telehealth
    • Wearables
  • Startups
  • Value-Based Care
    • Accountable Care
    • Medicare Advantage

Connect

Subscribe to HIT Consultant Media

Latest insightful articles delivered straight to your inbox weekly

Copyright © 2025. HIT Consultant Media. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy |