Researchers describe novel way to identify primary care workforce to help prepare for future workforce needs

Health care stakeholders have long relied upon the American Medical Association's Masterfile to identify physicians who practice primary care medicine.

This approach has proven problematic because the AMA does not differentiate physicians with primary care training from physicians who practice true primary care.

As a result, estimates of U.S. primary care capacity are inaccurate, at best. To ensure an adequate primary care workforce in the future, stakeholders must use data that accurately reflects which physicians (and other clinical staff) provide primary care.

In this new study, researchers point to alternative data that can be used to accurately assess and predict future workforce needs.

The research is published in The Annals of Family Medicine.