The study published today examining the capacity of a limited specialized physician workforce to meet a growing demand for HIV care supports the need for immediate action to ensure the health and futures of Americans living with the virus. Finding that within the next five years the numbers of new physicians trained in HIV care will fall significantly short of the numbers necessary to provide appropriate treatment to an estimated 30,000 additional patients each year, the study highlights both the value of the HIV specialty, and factors that discourage pursuing it. While administrative burdens associated with HIV care provision remain substantial, salary and reimbursements for providing that care remain among the lowest in medicine, challenging outcomes, and satisfaction in a field physicians often have chosen for the opportunities it offers to improve patients’ lives. With Infectious Diseases trained physicians accounting for the largest specialty represented among the HIV workforce, these findings also reflect the steep decline in applicants applying for fellowship slots in the specialty and the primary factors driving that downturn.

In addition, finding that that nearly half of HIV-trained physicians practice at facilities receiving Ryan White funding, providing care for nearly three quarters of all patients with HIV, the study highlights the critical role of the Ryan White Program and the need for robust and sustained funding for the program. The rising numbers of people living with HIV is in part an indication of the success of appropriate and optimal treatment that must not be jeopardized.

Study Information:

Qualifications, Demographics, Satisfaction, and Future Capacity of the HIV Care Provider Workforce in the United States, 2013-2014. John Weiser, Linda Beer, Brady T. West, Christopher C. Duke, Garrett W. Gremel, and Jacek Skarbinski. Clin Infect Dis. (2016) doi: 10.1093/cid/ciw442 First published online: June 29, 2016.

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