2009 AAMC Physician Workforce Research Conference

Physician Workforce Conference Tackles Reform

How do we ensure that there are enough physicians to care for all Americans as our nation prepares to overhaul its health care system? Leading national and international workforce experts explored that question at the AAMC's Fifth Annual Physician Workforce Research Conference.

"The recession is slowing demand for physicians, but health care reform will increase it," said Edward S. Salsberg, director of the AAMC Center for Workforce Studies.

"Building the infrastructure for a reformed health care system means that the physician work force has to be a part of the discussion over the long run. This is a time of great opportunity for the nation and for physician workforce planners," Salsberg said.

Mary Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N., administrator of the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, opened the conference with a presentation that detailed several ways of preparing physicians to meet the nation's evolving health care needs, including through training in interprofessional teamwork, cultural competence, and health informatics.

The meeting's keynote speaker, Lloyd Michener, M.D., chairman of Duke University School of Medicine's department of community and family medicine, noted that partnerships with social service agencies, charities, and other community groups can help physicians and hospitals improve local health.

Other conference speakers, including Mark E. Miller, Ph.D., executive director of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, suggested that changes in the Medicare payment system were essential to both increasing the nation's physician supply and streamlining health care delivery.

The conference was held April 29–May 1, 2009, in Washington, D.C., and was jointly sponsored by the AAMC and the Harvard Medical School Department of Continuing Education.