Opinion: How can we remedy the shortage of health providers?
It's time to put in place innovative approaches to increasing the number of physicians, nurse practitioners, and other health care providers.
In a medical mecca like Boston, which is home to three medical schools and many world-class hospitals, you’d think that getting a timely appointment with a primary care physician or specialist would be a breeze. It isn’t. Finding a doctor is even harder in rural and underserved areas. Yet the public debate on health care remains focused on insurance and funding, and largely ignores the undersupply of health care professionals. Access to care means more than adequate insurance.
Many factors influence projections about the size of the health provider workforce, which have swung widely over past decades. How best to assess it, from average wait times for appointments to number of physicians
