An article published in a recent Health Affairs report shows that the need for specialists in healthcare will outweigh the need for primary care physicians through 2025.
While demand for primary care services is expected to grow 14 percent over the next 11 years, neurological surgery, radiology and general surgery will each grow 18 percent. Vascular surgery demand is expected to grow 31 percent and cardiology 20 percent.
The article's authors attribute the expansion to:
• Increased aging population
• Increased prevalence of chronic disease
• Complex medical conditions
• Expanded medical coverage
"Failure to train sufficient numbers of the correct mix of specialists could exacerbate already long wait times for appointments, reduce access to care for some of the nation's most vulnerable patients and reduce patients' quality of life," according to the report.
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