Health Care Utilization
Healthcare plays a significant role in the life of every citizen, and contributes immensely to the growth of the economy. A healthy nation translates to a prosperous economy, which explains why the Federal Government invests so much in healthcare. The Physician supply in medical terms refers to the population of trained physicians that provide service in a healthcare system. The phrase also means the number of trained medical practitioners that stand actively in a given labor market. This paper outlines the impact of physician supply on access to healthcare.
Longer Waiting Time for Patients
Shortage of the physician supply at a given healthcare facility escalates to patients waiting for long periods before receiving medical attention. Crisp and Chen (2014) indicate that p hysician-patient ratio determines the quality of service the patients receive in a given healthcare facility. Since a single physician will be serving a large population of patients, it follows that the patients will have to wait longer before the physician attends to them. In such cases, the healthcare facility gives priority to emergency treatments. Bulging numbers of patients at different healthcare facilities will persist as the physicians try to attend to every situation as dictated by their agency. Patients will not only have to wait longer but also reschedule their appointments with physicians, which comes at a great inconvenience.
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Reduced Admission of Patients
Healthcare facilities ought to admit patients for better healthcare provision, but in the wake of an increased number of patients against the decreasing number of physicians; it becomes difficult to admit more patients. Kalb et al. (2018) assert that physician shortage translates to a delayed provision of medical care to patients and therefore increased congestion at the various healthcare facilities. Increased patients’ population reduces the admission capacity of healthcare facilities thus making it difficult to admit more patients; especially the bed capacity has reached the required limit. Healthcare facilities have a limit on the number of patients they can handle especially the ones offering in-patient services.
Impacts of Delayed or Lack of Access to Healthcare on an Individual’s Health Status
Lack of access or delayed access to healthcare has a detrimental impact on one's health in the sense that it causes a delay in the diagnosis as well as treatment and therefore affecting the patient's health. Some diseases require urgent treatment failure to which they develop into more complex cases whose treatment come at a high treatment cost. West, Dyrbye, and Shanafelt (2018) state that i nfections tend to advance in situations where patients experience delayed attention, which deteriorates their health condition and prolongs suffering. Moreover, delayed or lack of access to health care also increases the mortality rate of patients, as many of them succumb to their illnesses before they receive medical attention. Some of them receive medical care when their diseases have reached advanced levels, hence, making it difficult to save their lives. This aspect explains the increasing patient mortality rates.
Conclusion
Healthcare services remain crucial in the general wellbeing of the public. Physicians supply impacts directly on the patients, as their shortage results in increased delays in receiving medical attention for patients at various healthcare facilities, and reduced admission capacity in the same facilities. On the other hand, delayed access, or lack of access to healthcare services results in increased patients’ suffering and mortality rates. Immediate medical attention relieves patients of pain and helps to contain the disease before it advances, and therefore, saving lives.
References
Crisp, N., & Chen, L. (2014). Global supply of health professionals. New England Journal of Medicine , 370 (10), 950-957.
Kalb, G., Kuehnle, D., Scott, A., Cheng, T. C., & Jeon, S. H. (2018). What factors affect physicians' labor supply: Comparing structural discrete choice and reduced ‐ form approaches. Health Economics , 27 (2), e101-e119.
West, C. P., Dyrbye, L. N., & Shanafelt, T. D. (2018). Physician burnout: Contributors, consequences, and solutions. Journal of Internal Medicine , 283 (6), 516-529.
