GCU Health Care Needs of Growing and Aging Population Discussion

please respond to the following discussion post as a peer commenting. Supply and demand encompass the health care workforce, just as they do any other service providers. Describe the role that public policy plays when discussing physician shortages.

The US population growing by 20 million people each decade affects healthcare, especially that between 2000 and 2030, the number of people over 65 is expected to double. (Forum, 2009). These statistics are concerning because the elderly population will need more medical care and treatment and need physicians to treat them. On the supply side of things within healthcare, many aging physicians are heading towards retirement. (Dewar, 2017). On the demand side, when looking at the increasing geriatric population, the demand for healthcare services will increase, and even medical advancements could increase demand. Although the supply of medical physicians is not just based on supply and demand, it is a combination of individual career choices and public policy.

The federal and state government will help regulate the practice of medicine by providing guidelines that have to be met for physicians to have a medical license. Medical schools and institutions play a part as well by deciding on training hours and residency programs. Due to the increasing shortage of physicians and the growing aging population, policymakers must address these problems. In addition, policymakers must look at the financial implications of being a physician with the mass amount of education and debt they incur. The policymakers must also look to improve residency training programs to make them more flexible. (Pham, n.d.). Addressing some of the hardships and financial burdens that are hard to get the education needed to become a physician may encourage others to go into this field of medicine.

References:

Dewar, D. M. (2017). Essentials of health economics. Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Forum, I. of M. (US) N. C. P. (2009). Supply and Demand in the Health Care Workforce. In Ensuring Quality Cancer Care through the Oncology Workforce: Sustaining Care in the 21st Century: Workshop Summary. National Academies Press (US). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK215247/

Pham, K. (n.d.). America’s Looming Doctor Shortage: What Policymakers Should Do. The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved October 19, 2021, from https://www.heritage.org/health-care-reform/report…