The shortage of medical oncologists: the Australian Medical Oncologist Workforce Study

Abstract

oncerns are increasing in Australia and internationally that the supply of medical oncologists (MOs) is insufficient to meet the rising demand. 1-5 The only study of the medical and haematological oncology workforce in Australia was published in 2001. 6 This study found that there were 180 MOs in active practice in Australia (0.9 per 100 000 population), and an estimated shortfall of at least 40 medical and haematological oncologists. The best estimate of the number of MOs in Australia in 2009 was 311, based on the membership of the Medical Oncology Group of Australia (MOGA), the peak representative body for MOs in Australia. This equates to 1.4 MOs per 100 000 population. Despite the increase since 2001, this figure is still well below comparable international figures, such as the 3.5 MOs per 100 000 population reported in the United States in 2005. 7 In response to consumer concerns about the medical oncology workforce shortage, the Australian Medical Oncologist Workforce Study was initiated by MOGA in 2009. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the current and future capacity of the MO workforce by estimating the supply, demand and shortfall of MOs in Australia in 2009 and 2014. Methods Study population 2009 and 84 to 156 in 2014. The chemotherapy utilisation rate was 19%. Conclusions: The current shortage of MOs is expected to persist in the future. National strategies are needed to increase the capacity of the medical oncology workforce and the chemotherapy utilisation rate.

Medical Oncology Workload in Canada: Infrastructure, Supports, and Delivery of Clinical Care

“…In their cohort, the median annual consult load was approximately 260 for office patients only, but rose to 350 per oncologist if hospital inpatients were included. In a 2009 Australian survey, Blinman et al 6 reported an annual new consult workload of 280 for 94 Australian mos. Finally, a 2009 survey of 32 mos by the New Zealand Working Group reported an annual consult load of 220 4 .…”

“…We are not otherwise aware of any systematic study of the medical oncology workload in Canada. Moreover, we are aware of only three studies from other high-income countries (hics) that have explored these issues [4][5][6] . In those studies (from New Zealand, the United States, and Australia), the mo caseload was 220-280 new patients per year.…”

Unplanned oncology admissions within 14 days of non-surgical discharge: a retrospective study

“…Innovative methods of service delivery through the involvement of a range of health care professionals beyond medical-led services warrant consideration to meet the needs of an expanding cancer population, particularly in view of the obvious need for psychological supports experienced by patients who had multiple UPAs [37]. A variety of non-medical service initiatives is described in the literature, all of which demonstrate success in reducing UPA [7,18,29,38] and include symptom-focused home care nursing [29], community integrated case management of advanced practice nurses in oncology [38] and telephone access to specialised oncology nurses [7,18].…”

Estimation of Oncologists’ Active Supply in Iran: Three Sources Capture-Recapture Method

“…Other studies indicate that metropolises with more beds tend to attract more physicians (18), as approximately 39.6% of physicians and 20.6% of patient beds are concentrated in Bangkok metropolis (22). Likewise, since Tehran is the capital with bigger health facilities than other provinces (23) having about 21.3% share of total cancer facilities, it is probably the reason to attract more oncologists (10). Although, there is no consensus on the ideal geographic concentration of physicians, the distribution of oncologists should meet the population's needs and provide sufficient accessibility to health care services (18).…”

“…Therefore, using medical council data might result in over-estimation or under-estimation of active physicians supply, especially in specialty areas. In addition to existing data banks, some studies have conducted surveys to determine the current and projected supply, demand and shortfall of medical oncologists (10). Other studies have synchronized medical council masterfiles with telephone directories to estimate the number of active physicians (6,11).…”