Changing Trends in the Supply of Primary Care
Authors: DAVID BLUMENTHAL
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1981)

Editorials1 December 1981Changing Trends in the Supply of Primary CareDAVID BLUMENTHAL, M.D., M.P.P., DAVID A. HAMBURG, M.D.DAVID BLUMENTHAL, M.D., M.P.P.Search for more papers by this author, DAVID A. HAMBURG, M.D.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-95-6-772 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptConsider this possibility: The United States may soon have an excess of physicians delivering primary care to adults. Unconventional as it may sound, this assertion is worth examining in light of a recent series of studies of primary care in general, and internal medicine in particular.Since the late 1960s, consensus has supported a very different viewpoint. Most authorities have argued that the United States has been underproducing primary care practitioners of all varieties and overproducing subspecialists. This view has governed the formulation of federal policy toward health professionals and was reiterated in the preamble to Public Law 94-484, the...References1. MENDENHALLTARLOVGIRARDMICHELRADECKI RARJS. A national study of internal medicine and its subspecialties: II. Primary care in internal medicine. Ann Intern Med. 1979;91:275-87. LinkGoogle Scholar2. . Report of the Graduate Medical Education National Advisory Committee to the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office; 1980: Vol. 1. 11; DDHS Publication No. (HRA) 81-651. Google Scholar3. PETERSON M. The place of the general internist in primary care. Ann Intern Med. 1979;91:305-6. LinkGoogle Scholar4. . A manpower policy for primary health care. Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences; 1978; IOM Publication 78-02. Google Scholar5. AIKENLEWISCRAIGMENDENHALLBLENDENROGERS LCJRRD. The contribution of specialists to the delivery of primary care. N Engl J Med. 1979;300:1363-70. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. MCNUTT D. GMENAC: its manpower forecasting framework. Am J Public Health. 1981;71:1116-24. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. JACOBY I. Graduate medical education: its impact on specialty distribution. JAMA. 1981;245:1046-51. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. SCHLEITERTARLOVWEIL MAP. The Association of Professors of Medicine Task Force on Manpower. National study of internal medicine manpower: VII. Residency and fellowship training 1976-1977 through 1980-1981. Ann Intern Med. 1981;95:762-8. LinkGoogle Scholar9. REINHARDT U. The GMENAC forecast; an alternative view. Am J Public Health. 1981;71:1149-57. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar10. STEINBERGLAWRENCE ER. Where have all the doctors gone? Physician choices between specialty and primary care practice. Ann Intern Med. 1980;93:619-23. LinkGoogle Scholar11. FEIN R. Health manpower challenge for the eighties. Yale J Biol Med. 1981; in press. MedlineGoogle Scholar12. WEILSCHLEITERTARLOV PMA. National study of internal medicine manpower: V. Comparison of residents in internal medicine—future generalists and subspecialists. Ann Intern Med. 1981;94:678-90. LinkGoogle Scholar13. MCCUE J. Training internists: insights from private practice. Am J Med. 1981;71:475-9. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar14. ROGERS D. The challenge of primary care. In: KNOWLES JH, ed. Doing Better and Feeling Worse, Health in the United States. New York; W.W. Norton; 1977: 100. Google Scholar15. SCHWARTZNEWHOUSEBENNETTWILLIAMS WJBA. The changing geographic distribution of physicians. N Engl J Med. 1980;303:1032-8. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Division of Health Policy Research and Education Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited ByCommunity-Based Health Care: Contradictions and ChallengesHOWARD WAITZKIN, M.D., Ph.D. 1 December 1981Volume 95, Issue 6Page: 772-774KeywordsPublic policySub-specialty care Issue Published: 1 December 1981 PDF DownloadLoading ...