Florida will face an increasing physician shortage over the next decade, due in large part to the severe lack of residency programs in the state, according to a study released Tuesday.
Commissioned by the Teaching Hospital Council of Florida and the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida, the study projected the physician shortage to hit 7,000 by 2025, affecting 19 different physician specialties. There will be a 19 percent shortfall in specialists by 2025, and psychiatry, general surgery, rheumatology and thoracic surgery specialties will be hit hardest across the state, according to the report. However, shortages will be most critical in the panhandle and southwest regions of the state, and will be concentrated in endocrinology, rheumatology, hematology and other specialties.
Based on these numbers, researchers projected that the state needs 13,568 new residency spots to be created and filled over the next 10 years to avert the issue. This translates to 1,360 new residency slots each year for 10 years, according to the statement.
Many physicians choose to practice in the state where they complete their residency, so creating additional programs will help alleviate the shortage. About two-thirds of Florida medical school graduates leave the state for their residencies. However, for those who completed both medical school and their residency Florida, 81 percent remained in-state to practice medicine.
"Florida has fallen behind in training enough physicians to meet our citizens' growing need for quality healthcare,'' Steven Sonenreich, chairman of the Teaching Hospital Council of Florida and president and CEO of Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami, said in a statement. "This study provides a roadmap of the demand for physicians and can serve as a benchmark for Florida's long-term planning for graduate medical residency training programs.''
More articles on integration and physician issues:
St. Mary Medical residents to unionize
8 reasons why physicians avoid government practice
Study: Physicians wrongly blame high healthcare costs on patient demands