RSS FeedDoctors Working Fewer Hours
25 February 2010Yet another contributing factor to the physician shortage has emerged: shorter work hours. In a recent entry from the LA Times’ “Booster Shots” column, Shari Roan reports on a trending decrease in weekly hours worked by physicians. She cites a JAMA survey showing that the percentage decrease in hours worked over the past 30+ years is equivalent to a loss of nearly 36,000 doctors. The average work week for physicians now is 51 hours, according to the report, a decrease of about 7.2% from 1997-2007, across physicians of all types and ages.
This is particularly concerning due to the increase in demand for physicians that the Bureau of Labor Statistics has predicted. The BLS projects a 22% growth for the physician workforce from 2008-2018. Additionally, other factors such as increasing overhead, and decreased reimbursements are driving some doctors out of practice early, a trend which may be further exacerbated in the future, depending upon the outcome of the health reform debate.
More:
- The Doctor Is In – But Not for Long (LA Times Health)
- Physician Survey – Health Reform
- Bureau of Labor Statistics Projections
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