Table 1 Priority 1: Appropriate size, specialty mix, and geographic composition of the physician workforce
From: Responsiveness to societal needs in postgraduate medical education: the role of accreditation
Interventions | Benefits to the health care system (relevant social accountability values) | Strategies to effect change |
|---|---|---|
Ensure appropriate size, specialty mix, and skill set of the physician workforce | Improved access to care for all individuals; improved population health (relevance, equity) [3] | System: Top-down government control of specialty choice; national/state/provincial funding incentives for training generalista physicians Accreditation: Standards that require curricula and learning experiences related to improving population health Institution and program: Institutions and programs with a mission to train generalist physicians Individual: Educational debt forgiveness or incentive payments for individuals selecting generalist specialties |
Optimize geographic distribution of physicians | Access to care and improved population health for rural and underserved inner-city populations (relevance, equity) [3] | System: Top-down governmental control of health care; national/state/provincial funding incentives for training physicians for rural and underserved locations Institution and program: Institutions and programs with a mission to prepare physicians for practice in rural and underserved areas Individual: Educational debt forgiveness or incentive payments for individuals practising in rural or underserved areas |
Reduce “brain drain” through international medical migration | Enhanced retention of physician workforce in nations with physician shortages; increased international equity and fairness (relevance, equity) [3] | Global systems: WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel [10] |