Physician shortages are impacting medical systems nationwide.
One organization, Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group, has hired 250 physicians since 2023, according to a news bulletin by the American Medical Association, the most the group has ever hired in a single year. Physician expertise ranges across 45 specialties.
Mid-Atlantic Permanente, based in North Bethesda, Md., covers patients in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Here are five ways they've fought the physician shortage problem.
1) Focus on recruiting. The recruiting team at Mid-Atlantic Permanente implemented tools like search-engine optimization and AI to source candidates, according to Richard McCarthy, MD, and executive directly at the medical group. He also noted that recruiting should be constant, even where there are no open positions.
"Given the fact that we’re prepaid in a closed network, you have to make sure that you have a ready supply of physicians who you are interested in, particularly in primary care,” he said.
2) Quick decision-making. Dr. McCarthy told AMA that eliminating lag in the decision-making process is essential in the high-demand world of physician hiring. This means that the recruitment process should include having potential hires get to know existing staff, getting answers to them quickly and accommodating candidates as much as possible to fill positions.
3) Encourage physician referrals. In 2023, 12% of applicants hired to Mid-Atlantic Permanente were referred by a Permanente physician. This is especially true for physician-run facilities, like Mid-Atlantic Permanente.
“It’s incredibly important to be able to effectively source physicians. And what we try to do is focus on physician referrals,” Dr. McCarthy said. “We don’t financially reward physician referrals, but we encourage our docs—especially newly graduated docs—to go back to their training programs and talk about how our practice is different.”
4) Create pathways for growth and leadership. Acknowledging that many physicians will come to a point in their practice where they want to expand, learn more and contribute beyond clinical work is vital, Dr. McCarthy said. This might look like providing quality or process-improvement opportunities, leadership roles and patient-advocacy opportunities.
5) Reduce burdens. Utilizing AI and other technology that can make physicians jobs more efficient and cut down on administrative burdens could be essential in preventing physician burnout.
“The next few decades for medicine, it is going to be critical for groups to differentiate themselves in what they offer physicians and we make sure that we support physicians in practice—both clinically and extra-clinically in terms of other opportunities,” Dr. McCarthy said.