The entire country is in the midst of a physician shortage that is affecting a multitude of metropolitan and rural areas. Some areas have been more affected by the physician shortage than others.
Of the many areas that are facing this large physician shortage, California has some of the most extreme circumstances. Californian’s are not only facing a physician shortage, but are facing other healthcare problems too. California’s physician shortage situation is even more dire because there are few physicians who are agreeing to treat Medi-Cal patients, which is the Medicaid program for the state of California.
A recent survey found that while 90 percent of California physicians are willing to take new patients, only 57 percent are willing to take patients that are under the Medi-Cal plan. Some analysts believe that this will lead to an even greater physician shortage for the number of people in California that are in need of treatment, according to California Healthline. Now there are a limited number of physicians, but patients must ensure that his or her doctor will accept their method of payment which narrows down their physician options even further.
One option California healthcare administrators may want to consider is recruiting locum tenens physicians to help ease the shortage. These temporary physicians can serve as a buffer until medical facilities are able to find a permanent doctor.
Physicians who are interested in exploring the various options they have available to them may want to consider locum work, as it allows them to test the waters in a variety of settings and locations.
