Economic Factors for Physicians Essay

Tags: affordable care act price elasticity human services baby boomers

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Total Length: 1567 words ( 5 double-spaced pages)

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Introduction to Situation



This paper is based on a fictional case study in which a young woman is considering becoming a physician. Prior to fully committing to this decision, she desires to attain prudent financial information about its repercussions. Specifically, she is seeking to identify the return on investment that her decision could potentially generate. This involves both qualitative and quantitative factors, the former of which pertains to personal gain derived from aiding people in a much needed professional setting. The latter relates to the finances she can generate from practicing medicine.



This financial data is stratified into a number of different categories corresponding to the market for doctors in terms of supply and demand, elasticity, production costs, pricing, and normal profit. These factors will help her to decide in which state it is beneficial to practice. The focus of this paper, then, is to identify how these factors relate to this young woman's decision and to advise her of the value that she can derive from it. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate this financial data both individually and holistically to truly discern its impact on the future of this young woman.



Relevant Economic Principles



There are a number of germane economic principles that one must consider in order to provide truly prudent advice for a young woman in the aforementioned situation. One of the most basic concepts that will play a determining factor in this situation is the economic notions of supply and demand. Analyzing these factors will shed a considerable degree of insight into where, if at all, this woman should attempt to practice medicine so that she can optimize the financial yield gained from it. Market elasticity is another factor to consider, particularly as it relates to supply and demand. Depending on the elasticity of a particular market, some of the rudiments of supply and demand may greatly or modestly affect the actual market for doctors. The realities of supply and demand are also mitigated by a host of additional factors, which can potentially affect the decision-making process of the young woman.

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These include variables such as production costs and pricing, all of which can produce an impact on the normal profit that a practicing doctor can receive.



Demand Determinants



The demand determinants for this particular situation are stark, and perhaps even somewhat surprising. The reality is that there are several factors attributing to the increase of demands for physicians. There have been numerous advances in technology and medicine in the past several years, which are resulting in the fact that people are living longer than they ever have before. Thus, there is a predominance of baby boomers who are significantly contributing to an aging population. Servicing the elderly is a prominent concern for the healthcare space (U.S. Department, 2006, p. 2). Additionally, there are legal determinants that are affecting the demand for physicians. The Patient and Affordable Care Act has made it mandatory for people to get health insurance. In the wake of this legislation there is a greater demand for doctors (Health Resources, 2016) than there ever has been before.



Because of the wide-sweeping nature of this legislation, in addition to the inescapable reality that the increasingly elderly population is becoming more prominent in the medical field and its expenses, there is a particular demand for primary care physicians. According to Health Resources and Services Administration (2013), "If the system for delivering primary care in 2020 were to remain fundamentally the same as today, there will be a projected shortage of 20,400 primary care physicians." Viewed from this perspective, the factors that are contributing to the demand for physicians is pointing to the specialization in the primary care physician role, which could prove potentially lucrative for a young woman looking to become a part of this workforce.



Finally, it is worth noting that there is a strong demand for primary care physicians in Texas. That demand is partially predicated on the fact that there was a large uninsured population in this state, that was one of the more sizable in the nation (Conway, 2010, p. 1). There are additional reasons for the growing.....

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References


Association of American Medical Colleges. (2016). Tuition and student fees reports. https://services.aamc.org/ Retrieved from https://services.aamc.org/tsfreports/report.cfm?select_control=PRI&year_of_study=2016

Conway, C.A. (2010). The physician shortage problem in Texas. Health Law Perspectives. Retrieved from http://www.law.uh.edu/healthlaw/perspectives/2010/(CC)%20Shortage.pdf

Health Resources & Services Administration. (2013). Projecting the supply and demand for primary care practitioners through 2020. http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/ Retrieved from http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/supplydemand/usworkforce/primarycare/

Kane, L., Peckham, C. (2014). Medscape physician compensation report 2014. www.medscape.com http://www.medscape.com/features/slideshow/compensation/2014/public/overview#2

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2006). Physician supply and demand: Projections to 2020. http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/ Retrieved from http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/supplydemand/medicine/physician2020projections.pdf

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