It is well documented that access to primary care in the U.S. is decreasing. The cause is multi-factorial. Some of the problems are a result of patient-related factors, such as mobility and location, but a large part is due to physician shortages. In fact, a new report from the Human Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) predicts a shortage of 87,150 by 2037. The net result is that some of our most vulnerable patients are left without primary care access, ultimately leading to disease progression, poor outcomes and increased costs. To solve access issues, we need to find ways to bring care more reliably to our patients and to scale the skills of our hard-working primary care physicians.
In response to rising costs, healthcare organizations are trying to move patients away from higher-acuity settings, such as the ER or skilled nursing facilities, to lower-acuity settings, such as an outpatient office or even the four walls of the patient’s home. However, none of this solves primary care physician shortages, meaning care delivery organizations will need to scale by leveraging technology such as remote patient monitoring and telehealth and a team-based approach to care.
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