US Medicare HPM Physician Workforce and Service Delivery in 2008-2020
In a study published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, the authors examined changes in the Medicare hospice and palliative care (HPM) physician workforce and service delivery settings (from 2008 to 2020). While the workforce grew, access to palliative care is disproportionately concentrated in metropolitan areas and hospital settings. Given this, the authors found that this may limit upstream outpatient palliative care for people living with serious illness, especially outside of metropolitan areas.