...costs.

All of these factors are contributing to what some experts predict could be a major physician shortage in coming years. At the current pace, the nation will have a shortage of 85,000-200,000 doctors by 2020, various studies predict.

As a result, in the future, you will likely have to fight harder to fill your physician openings. How can you ensure that your fight isn't for naught? By giving physicians a voice in the facility's direction and treating them like an integral part of the organization. If physicians don't feel as though they matter, they may go somewhere else.

Become 'physician-centric'

Despite the trend, many hospital executives are slow to heed the warning signs, says Todd Sagin, MD, vice president and national medical director for The Greeley Company, a division of HCPro, Inc., in Marblehead, MA.

"Most hospitals are not doing everything they should, which is at least developing a comprehensive strategic plan for physician recruitment," Sagin says. "Hospitals ought to be engaged in a board-level physician plan. We've got a shortage now,...

NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.



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