Low reimbursement rates are a major cause of New Jersey’s continuing primary care shortage, according to a study published by the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute — and that
Medical schools and residency training programs push trainees away from primary care and make primary care seem less prestigious. Medicare is the largest payer of graduate medical education, so Medicare could require additional outpatient primary care training in residency to encourage Family and Internal Medicine trainees to enter outpatient primary care, where the need is critical.
Not everyone who visits an urgent care will seek primary care services, but the ability for clinics to provide PCP services on an as-needed basis is a massive value-add for all stakeholders - be it providers seeking to bolster their financial positions or patients who are suffering from provider shortages in primary care.
Integrating pharmacists into primary care teams could be a key way to address the primary care physician shortage, according to a new report. The pandemic made it clear that pharmacists are clinically trained and want to provide care beyond filling prescriptions, the report said.