Oncology demand may outpace practitioners
Published April 2007
The number of oncologists in the workforce is likely to be outpaced by the growing demands of an aging population, a new study in the March edition of The Journal of Oncology Practice says. Such a development could force healthcare providers to start thinking differently about how to offer oncology services, and how that might affect the medical staff.
The study reports that while the demand for oncology services is expected to rise 48% between 2005 and 2020, the supply of oncology services is expected to grow by only 14% over the same period. In one extrapolation of that data, the study showed a future shortage of roughly 2,000 to as many as 4,000 oncologists nationwide.
The study also pointed out potential ways that healthcare institutions will deal with these issues, which may aid medical staff offices in thinking about how their organizations will deal with the anticipated shortfall of oncology practitioners.
"There are opportunities to reduce the gap between projected supply and demand by increasing the number of oncology training slots and by increasing the use of other practitioners," the researchers suggest. Practitioners ranging from nurse practitioners and physician assistants to primary care physicians and hospice care providers could help alleviate the pending shortage of oncologists.
To access the study's abstract, go to: www.jopasco.org/cgi/content/full/3/2/79
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