A proposed model for telemedicine to supplement the physician workforce inthe USA

Maldistribution of physicians is the norm in much of the USA. This paper ex plores the effect that the integration of telemedicine into the health syst em could have on physician workforce requirements in the USA. The analysis is based on preliminary evidence suggesting that telemedicine is an effecti ve and efficient means of delivering a broad spectrum of health services to medically under-served rural and inner-city communities. While the emphasi s here is on interactive, video-based telemedicine services, other telemedi cine modalities, such as store-and-forward techniques and remote monitoring , are likely to have a parallel effect. As these new technologies become a normal part of health care, they will reshape the medical workforce and exe rt a profound influence on physician workforce requirements in the USA. Thi s paper presents a potential model for this reshaped workforce that emphasi zes an expanded role for mid-level health-care providers.