Is a Physician Shortage Inevitable? Most Likely

Despite a recent New York Times' article arguing that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will not result in a physician shortage, the 90,000 physicians that will be needed by 2020 to keep up with demand will be difficult to achieve, according to a KevinMD.com report. With the PPACA's current problems surrounding the flawed healthcare.gov rollout and subsequent security issues, Kevin Campbell, MD, creator of KevinMD.com, said he does not see how a physician shortage will be avoided.

The NYT's article cites Massachusetts as an example of affordable care not placing an additional burden on physician numbers, but Massachusetts is not representative of the entire country, he said.

The flood of newly-insured patients will most certainly require more physicians and more efficiency to meet all patient needs, Dr. Campbell said. 

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