IOM Highlights Health Care Workforce Challenges as Baby Boomers Loom

As nearly 80 million baby boomers begin to become Medicare-eligible, health care workforce and access issues rise to the top of policy makers’ agenda, coinciding with the Academy’s own initiatives. An Institute of Medicine (IOM) report released this month points to a shortage of practitioners serving older people. To improve ophthalmologists’ ability to keep up with the growing eye health needs of society, an Academy-produced white paper series (member login required) considers the best practices for high patient throughput in three practice types:

• Physicians with technicians and optometrists

• Physicians with technicians

• Physician only

The challenge isn’t unique to ophthalmology. The IOM study calls for higher pay, more training and changes in care delivery to avert a crisis.