{"id":133335,"date":"2021-01-04T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-04T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=133335"},"modified":"2021-01-04T13:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-01-04T23:00:00","slug":"covid-19-worsens-doctor-shortage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2021\/01\/04\/covid-19-worsens-doctor-shortage\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19 worsens Hawai\u02bbi physician shortage"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"stethoscope<\/p>\n

Already in dire need of more doctors, Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s physician shortage was exacerbated by the COVID-19<\/abbr> crisis. According to the final Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Physician Workforce Assessment Project Report for 2020 (PDF<\/abbr><\/small>)<\/a> conducted by the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa John A. Burns School of Medicine<\/a> (JABSOM<\/abbr>) and submitted to the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> State Legislature in December 2020, the pandemic has challenged continued physician practice in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and is expected to increase the relative shortage of physicians for the state for the next several years as older physicians leave their practices. <\/p>\n

Out of the 989 physicians offices surveyed, 44% said that the coronavirus pandemic disrupted their practice in the form of temporary and permanent clinic closures, early retirement, increased telehealth practice, altered operating hours and locations and reduced patient volume. <\/p>\n

The statewide physician shortage remains between a range of 710 and 1,008. The higher number (1,008) is projected when researchers accounted for island and specialty specific needs. This year, the supply of practicing doctors (in full-time equivalents) is 2,812, down from 2,974 in 2019. At least 110 physicians retired in 2020, at least 139 left the state, 120 decreased their work hours and 8 passed away. Of the active physicians, 46% are ages 55+, 21% are ages 65+ and one is 90-years-old. In addition, women make up more than one-third of the workforce.<\/p>\n

County results<\/h2>\n

The physician shortage rose across all counties from 2019 to 2020:<\/p>\n