NORFOLK, Va. — In the next three years Sentara's doubling the number of Advanced Practice Providers (APPs), better known as physicians assistants and nurse practitioners, in an effort to address doctor shortages.
If you've tried to get a primary care doctor in Hampton Roads — or almost anywhere in the U.S. — there's a good chance you've had a tough time.
That's because of a nation-wide doctor shortage that isn't expected to get better any time soon. The Association of American Medical Colleges expects the U.S. to be short up to 86,000 physicians by 2036.
When News 3 told you of the issue, you told us about the impact and filled our social media pages with comment like:
"Months to get an appointment anywhere," a commenter out of Williamsburg said in August.
"I've been searching for a primary care doctor since February! NO ONE is accepting new patients," a commenter out of Hopewell said in August.
Patients are certainly waiting. And 93 percent of primary care providers are overwhelmed, according to a Doximity survey.
"Patients feel maybe they're not getting the full attention, providers, particularly physicians, are feeling pressure," explained Dr. Steven Pearman, vice president and chief medical officer for primary care at Sentara.
Pearman said Sentara is putting together "care teams" to include the additional APPs. The APPs aren't doctors but have advanced medical training and can help with many things a patient needs.
"Patients will need to understand we are still working as a team and that that team works together and [we hope patients will] feel comfortable seeing that member of a team based on their presenting needs," said Pearman.
He thinks a care team model with the additional APPs will help free up doctors for the tasks they're specially trained for and increase capacity by more than 70%. That's expected to open up patient appointment slots and help medical providers balance work and life. At the same time, Sentara is working to shift administrative duties away from doctors so they can focus on medical tasks. This past summer, they shared that they've been using AIto help streamline that process.
"In the long run this is going to allow us to have a sustainable primary care model," added Pearman.
In the meantime, he adds, patients can do something to help:
"Understanding the stresses — like why didn't my refill get done in an hour? You know, it's important to patients to understand having patience with us as we work on improving access. Our providers want to see patients, they're just stressed out."
