KevinMD January 25, 2026
The United States faces a worsening physician shortage despite increases in medical school enrollment and residency growth. This article provides a comprehensive, data-driven analysis of the multifactorial forces reducing effective physician supply. These include training-pathway inflation, declining board-certification throughput, shorter physician career duration, reduced reimbursement, the collapse of private practice, feminization of the workforce, declining IMG participation, and accelerating population aging. Tables and figures throughout this article illustrate how these factors combine to create a profound structural supply-demand mismatch.
1. Population growth, aging, and demand expansion
U.S. population growth alone does not explain the increased demand for physicians; the key driver is the rapid expansion of the older adult population. Patients aged 65 and older consume two to three times...
Today's Sponsors
Today's Sponsor