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While the US health care debate focuses on insurance and funding, many people struggle to schedule a doctor visit in timely manner. In rural areas, simply finding a doctor nearby can be a challenge. Nationwide there could be a shortage of somewhere between 40,800 and 104,900 physicians by 2030. Access to health care, in other words, means more than having insurance.

How to address this doctor shortage? Dr. Jeffrey Flier, former Dean of Harvard's Faculty of Medicine, has some ideas:

• Reform outdated accreditation practices. Remove barriers to creating new accredited US schools and training positions for physicians. This includes developing shorter and less expensive training paths.
• Allow more foreign-trained physicians. Provide paths to licensure that do not require retraining for qualified interna­tional medical graduates who have completed advanced clinical training in their home countries. These physicians are substantially more likely to practice in rural and poorer communities and in much-needed primary care specialties.
• Expand the type of care that can be provided by (less costly) physician assis­tants and nurse practitioners, who perform many primary care services as safely and effectively as physicians. This can help mitigate physician shortages in underserved parts of the country.
• Embrace new medical technology, such as the use of telemedicine, physiologic sensors, mobile health apps, and other potential “force multipliers”—for both medical education and practice. This can increase the number of health providers, raise their productivity, and offer greater convenience to patients.

Guests: 

• Jeffrey S. Flier, former Dean of Harvard's Faculty of Medicine. @jflier
• Leck Shannon, manager of the healthcare research portfolio at Mercatus. lshannon@mercatus.gmu.edu

Links:

• Dr. Flier’s new paper
• His Stat article

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadMReese.