Numbers of Physicians Required for Primary Medical Care

Abstract This study was designed to develop estimates of the numbers of physicians required for the provision of "good" primary medical care. The estimates concerning pediatricians and internists are based on clinical judgments of the content of good primary care and the frequency of conditions requiring it. The data available indicate the need for 133 physicians per 100,000 persons for primary care, as against the available supply of about 1/2 as many. To overcome this marked shortage various measures have to be considered, such as increasing the number of medical students, decreasing physicians' nonpatient care time, transferring activities to other types of providers, reducing physician time spent on particular services and accelerating the development of group practices.