Health-care workforce

Abstract

The health care workforce of the future will need more people to work in disciplines and places that serve the growing number of patients with chronic diseases. Current workforce projections suggest that the future number and distribution of primary care and specialty physicians will not be adequate to meet the growing burden of chronic disease. Care will be delivered by interdisciplinary teams of health-care providers who are working at the highest roles and functions allowed by their professional licenses. More health-care workers will be needed across the spectrum, from relatively low-skilled home aides to highly trained physicians, nurses, and therapists. Since chronic care is rendered in multiple settings, workers will be needed in long-term care, outpatient clinics, community health centers, public health departments, hospice settings, and, increasingly, patients' homes. As care shifts from acute to outpatient and community-based settings, training will need to put more emphasis on preparing health professionals to work outside of hospitals. Compensation and retention remain ongoing challenges in the quest to establish and maintain the appropriate workforce for the future.