Workforce - California Health Care Foundation

Workforce
Over the next decade, California faces a number of health workforce challenges, including a population that is growing, aging, and becoming more diverse. To meet these and other challenges, California must develop a modern health workforce that delivers smarter, more affordable care. That will require a new generation of health professionals with roles, skills, and workflows that match our latest understanding of how best to deliver high-quality, high-value care.

Sign up for CHCF updates on Workforce

The Big Shortage: The Future of California’s Health Workforce

Workforce, Telehealth, Behavioral Health

California's health workforce faces major shortages. The good news? There's no shortage of workable solutions.

California’s Physician Assistants: How Scope of Practice Laws Impact Care

Timothy Bates, Joanne Spetz, Miranda Werts

Health Care Costs, Workforce

Physician assistants (PAs) provide high-quality care and are more likely to work in rural areas and with underserved populations than are physicians. This paper offers an overview of how PAs operate in California, and explores the research behind the evidence for practice expansion.

Expanding the Role of Nurse Practitioners

Workforce, Behavioral Health

In 2019, the California Future Health Workforce Commission released a plan to address the state’s shortages of primary care and behavioral health providers. One of the Commission’s top recommendations was to maximize the role of nurse practitioners (NPs) and to expand their practice authority. In doing so, they noted that California is 1 of 28 states — and the only western state — that restricts NPs by requiring them to work with physician oversight.

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.

Nomad Health

Investing in Innovation, Workforce

Nomad Health's online marketplace directly connects clinicians and medical employers, making recruiting and hiring less expensive and more efficient and transparent.

California’s Current and Future Behavioral Health Workforce

Janet Coffman, Timothy Bates, Igor Geyn, Joanne Spetz

Behavioral Health, Workforce

This report synthesizes data about California’s behavioral health workforce. California needs to make substantial investments to meet future demand for behavioral health professionals.

2017 Edition — California Physicians

Janet Coffman, Igor Geyn, Margaret Fix

California's physician population has grown over the past 20 years. This Almanac report describes the landscape for physician services in 2015.

California Maps: How Many Primary Care and Specialist Physicians Are in Your County?

Use these interactive maps of California to see how many primary care physicians and specialists are practicing in your county.

2017 Edition — California Nurses

Timothy Bates, Joanne Spetz

Nursing is the single largest health profession in the state. These quick reference guides look at supply, demographics, education, distribution, and pay for registered nurses and licensed vocational nurses.

2017 Edition — California’s Health Care Workforce

California's health care industry employed more than 1.4 million people in 2015. Five Almanac quick reference guides provide data on wages, education, and workplaces for selected health professions.

Future Health Commission to Lay Groundwork for a Modern Health Workforce

August 23, 2017

Sandra R. Hernández

CHCF wants a health care system that works for all Californians, so we're proud to support the California Future Health Workforce Commission.

The Big Shortage: How Technology Can Help Solve America’s Health Workforce Problem

November 7, 2017

Sandra R. Hernández

Telehealth, Workforce

CHCF President and CEO Sandra Hernández gave the keynote address at the annual Health 2.0 Conference on the role of technology in solving America's health workforce challenges. This article is adapted from that talk.

California’s Community Paramedicine Program Improves Care Delivery

December 15, 2017

How does community paramedicine work in California? The director of the California Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) explains a series of pilot programs and how the state's residents can get the most benefit from the program.

Community Paramedicine Delivers Better Care at Lower Cost

The independent evaluator of California's community paramedicine pilot projects explains the findings of this highly anticipated first report.

How California Community Paramedicine Became a Priority for CHCF

October 19, 2016

The project manager of community paramedicine pilot projects and CHCF's vice president for external engagement explain how this new approach reduces demand for emergency care and hospital admissions.

Designer of Paramedicine Pilot Says Safety Is Job One

September 14, 2017

Avram Goldstein

Behavioral Health, Workforce

The architect of California's most successful community paramedicine pilot project explains why these projects should be permitted all over the state.

Travel Ban Highlights Importance of Immigrant Physicians to California Health Care

February 9, 2017

Avram Goldstein

In California, hundreds — possibly thousands — of doctors could be affected by immigration bans imposed by President Donald Trump.

January 23, 2017

Sacramento Briefing — Community Paramedicine in California

January 23, 2017

Community paramedicine (CP) is an innovative and evolving model of community-based health care designed to provide more effective and efficient services. Hear about California's CP pilot program.

Physician Participation in Medi-Cal: Is Supply Meeting Demand?

Janet Coffman, Margaret Fix

Expanding Health Coverage, Medi-Cal, Workforce

Enrollment in Medi-Cal surged between 2013 and 2015. This report looks at physician participation in Medi-Cal and implications for access to care.

External Resource

California Future Health Workforce Commission

Top leaders from across the state are working together to close the gap between the health workforce we have and the workforce we need.