The Big Shortage: The Future of California's Health Workforce - California Health Care Foundation

The Big Shortage: The Future of California’s Health Workforce
California's health workforce faces major shortages. The good news? There's no shortage of workable solutions.

It’s hard to imagine a healthy California without the proper health care workforce in place. Unfortunately, California’s health workforce is facing severe shortages. This special CHCF collection explores how and where California is most impacted and what California can do to ensure we all have the future workforce we need.

Health Workforce Commission Lays the Groundwork for Easier Access to Care

February 4, 2019

Sandra R. Hernández

A new report from the California Future Health Workforce Commission charts a clear path to ensure that our state has the right people in the right places to deliver the care that is needed most.

Shortchanged: Health Workforce Gaps in California

Homelessness & Health Care, Workforce

An estimated 11,226,111 people in California live in an area that has a shortage of primary care providers. Approximately 150,675 people are experiencing homelessness and in need of housing, health, and social services. It is critically important to fill the health workforce gaps across California to meet these needs. What are the numbers in your region?

Five Ways to Cure California’s Doctor Shortage

Experts propose solutions to boost primary care, from new payment models to expanded residency programs.

Does Your Neighborhood Have Enough Doctors?

California faces an overall shortage of physicians, but not all areas are the same. Use this searchable, interactive map to find out how many primary care doctors, psychiatrists, and ob/gyns are in your area.

Transforming Mental Health Patients into Providers

January 13, 2019

Behavioral Health, Workforce

An innovative program in Washington connects peer support counselors whose personal experience of recovery from mental illness or addiction helps them deliver behavioral health services to patients — at pivotal moments in their lives.

California’s Health Workforce Is Ready for a Technology Tune-Up — Video

Workforce, Telehealth, Investing in Innovation

Between virtual visits, automated physician assistants, and apps that aid in preventative care, technology may help California solve its doctor shortage and make the most of its health care workforce. Watch our video explainer to see how.

How Community Colleges Can Help End California’s Doctor Shortage

December 4, 2018

Marco Angulo, MD, chose to practice family medicine in a community clinic close to where he grew up. His educational path is an important model that could help ease the primary care physician shortage in California.

American Health Systems Use Technology to Empower Primary Care Docs

September 12, 2018

Telehealth, Workforce

Many health care systems are changing the way they operate and embracing new technologies to better organize care delivery while addressing the worsening shortage of physicians.

A Guide to Graduate Medical Education Funding in California

University of California, San Francisco, The Robert Graham Center

This comprehensive overview describes the landscape of graduate medical education (GME) funding in California, including sources, amounts, and distribution across the state. This series also includes a report outlining recommendations for expanding GME and seven issue briefs covering key issues facing GME in this state.

Jill’s Story: The Power of Telehealth in Rural California

Christopher Perrone

Behavioral Health, Medi-Cal, Workforce

A woman living in rural California talks about how technology helped her overcome her community's shortage of mental health practitioners to get counseling that put her life back on track. Watch the video and hear Jill's story.

California’s Nurse Practitioners: How Scope of Practice Laws Impact Care

California is one of a handful of states that restricts nurse practitioners' ability to work without physician oversight. This paper examines how these restrictions impact care.