Physician Supply
Physician supply is one of the three most challenging workforce issues confronting IHA member hospitals. Today's shortfall is influenced in part by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, which decreased and capped federal spending for residency training because of physician oversupply projections. However, aging demographics, gender and economic trends are currently indicating just the opposite. The Council on Graduate Medical Education (COGME) supports study findings that the U.S. actually faces a shortage of up to 96,000 doctors by the year 2020. IHA is working collaboratively with physician champions across the state on a number of initiatives to address Illinois' physician shortages.
Observation Stays - Responding to feedback from members and legislators asking for educational materials to help explain observation care, specifically how it relates to Medicare billing and three-day-stay requirements for skilled nursing care, the following IHA resources have been developed to enhance providers' and patients' understanding of observation care - View resource tools.
New Study Warns Illinois Faces Critical Physician Shortage
A new 2010 study commissioned by IHA, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and the Illinois State Medical Society finds that half of all graduating medical residents or fellows trained in Illinois leave the state to practice medicine elsewhere, in large part due to the state's medical liability environment. The study, released on Nov. 11, is the first to examine the state's supply of new physicians and cautions that Illinois will face a critical physician shortage, especially in rural areas, if new strategies are not adopted to stem the exodus.
2010 Physician Residency/Practice Retention Study
The study, initially piloted in 2009, is a collaborative effort of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, the Illinois State Medical Society and IHA to aggregate key information on graduating physician's practice plans and retention activity for informed policymaking and needed resources.