Access to health care is, in part, determined by the availability of physicians, a function of the physician supply. Policymakers have demonstrated a long-standing interest in access to care, both in general and for specific populations. Moreover, federal support for medical residency training (a.k.a., graduate medical education [GME]) is the…

Members of Congress and others have questioned whether expanding the scope of the Medicare graduate medical education (GME) program to include nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) could help mitigate the effects of a physician shortage in the United States. A Senate Committee on Appropriations report asked the US Government…

The scope of geriatrics-related educational offerings in large health care systems, in either the target audiences or topics covered, has not previously been analyzed or reported in the professional literature. The authors reviewed the geriatrics-related educational sessions that were provided between 1999 and 2009 by the Geriatrics Research,…

Figures presented at a recent meeting of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director's Advisory Committee indicate that traditional training grants may not be the best route to producing physical researchers. The NIH director suggests that NIH give serious consideration to new policies emphasizing other mechanisms. Related issues are…

Methods for assessing and monitoring the quality of care for research and for quality assurance programs are discussed. (Author/BB)

This is a discussion of some of the reasons for the high cost of health care in the United States in government programs, hospital wages, physician's fees, excess beds, too many specialists, and high technology--and some of the proposed solutions to these problems. (BB)

Discussed is a projected overabundance of physicians by 1990 and a possible cut in funding in medical schools because of this overabundance. Also discussed is the shortage of clinical investigators who are physicians because salaries for physicians are much higher than for clinical investigators. (DS)

This report evaluates the Department of Health and Human Services PATH (Physicians at Teaching Hospitals) initiative involving audits of Medicare billing processes and procedures. The PATH audits resulted from concerns that medical records did not adequately document the direct involvement of teaching physicians in services provided by resident…

The funding of postgraduate medical education through the "approved educational activities" of teaching hospitals needs to reevaluated. Since it is considered impossible to separate patient case and educational activities, drawing the line for financial purposes between these activities will be controversial and critical for teaching…

Amounts billed for teaching physician services and paid by Medicare carriers were reviewed by the General Accounting Office (GAO) to determine whether such payments had been made only where the physicians had satisfied the requirements of the Social Security Act. Attention was focused on the requirement that teaching physicians must provide a…

A survey of 1,139 Virginia family practitioners and internal medicine specialists investigated interest in pursuing geriatric education, including such factors as preferred form of education, preferred topics, intent to take the geriatric medicine qualifying examination, geriatric care provided, home visits, prior participation in geriatrics…

Canada's experience with national health insurance is examined from 1971, when a comprehensive first-dollar coverage system of benefits began in the Province of Quebec, until 1975. The study defines medical market areas in the province and asks questions about the effect of the Quebec insurance plan on the distribution of physicians, the supply of…

Reviews the rural physician shortage and related policy and research needs. Discusses geographic distribution of physicians, quality of rural care, rural recruitment and retention, rural residency training, factors in medical education affecting entry into rural practice, physician productivity and income, reimbursement, federal and state programs…

The impact of the Health Professions Educational Assistance Act of 1976 (P.L. 94-484) on the supply of physicians for the armed services was assessed. As background to the survey findings, information is presented on conditions of three federal programs and differences in their benefit structures and implications for program participation. These…