Policy Report: 2013 Indiana Physician Workforce

Abstract

The healthcare workforce represents the intersection of medical science, health care delivery, and patient health. Therefore ensuring an adequate supply of this workforce is critical to ensuring access to health care services across the population. Unfortunately, across the United States, including Indiana, an inequitable distribution of the health workforce threatens access and health. In order to secure the health and well-being of Hoosiers, health policy discussions focused on health care must consider the health workforce as part of the agenda. The physician workforce may be regarded as the “backbone” of the healthcare system. Based on their extensive training, physicians are positioned as leaders within the health system. Therefore, information on the supply and distribution of Indiana’s physician workforce is critical to informing any health workforce policy or planning efforts. This policy report provides a ‘snapshot’ from the most recent data on Indiana’s physician workforce, and presents information pertinent to workforce planning and policy in Indiana. Comprehensive data are available in the Data Report: 2013 Indiana Physician Workforce.