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Proportion of Family Physicians Caring for Children is Declining

Aimee R Eden1, Zachary J Morgan1, Anuradha Jetty1

  • 1From the American Board of Family Medicine, Lexington, KY (ARE, ZJM, LEP); Robert Graham Center, Washington, DC (AJ); Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY (LEP).

Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine : JABFM
|November 21, 2020
PubMed

Insights

The number of family physicians providing pediatric care has significantly decreased between 2014 and 2018. This decline impacts the pediatric primary care workforce and could worsen access to care, especially in underserved areas.

Area of Science:

  • Primary Care Medicine
  • Pediatrics
  • Health Workforce Studies

Background:

  • Access to primary care is crucial for child development and well-being.
  • The role of family physicians in providing pediatric care is well-established.
  • Recent trends in primary care physician demographics and practice patterns require investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze trends in the proportion of family physicians providing care to children.
  • To assess changes in pediatric patient care by family physicians from 2014 to 2018.
  • To understand the implications of these trends for the pediatric primary care workforce and health equity.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized national healthcare data from 2014 to 2018.
  • Analyzed the proportion of family physicians actively caring for pediatric patients (under 5 and 5-18 years).
  • Statistical analysis to determine the significance of observed changes.

Main Results:

  • A significant decline was observed in the proportion of family physicians caring for children under 5 years.
  • A significant decline was also noted in family physicians caring for children aged 5 to 18 years.
  • The data indicates a shrinking capacity of family physicians in pediatric primary care.

Conclusions:

  • The declining involvement of family physicians in pediatric care has significant implications for the primary care workforce.
  • This trend may exacerbate existing inequities in access to pediatric healthcare services.
  • Geographic disparities in access to care, particularly in pediatrician-shortage areas, are likely to worsen.

Keywords:
Access to Health CareChildFamily PhysiciansPediatriciansPrimary Health Care

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