Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges
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The United States has a physician specialty imbalance, primarily a shortage of generalists (defined as family physicians, general internists, and general pediatricians) relative to other specialists. In recent years, the rising costs of health care, the expansion of managed care, and problems of access to care have accentuated the critical role that generalists must play in a cost-effective, accessible health care system. Despite numerous public and private initiatives designed to address the supply of generalist physicians, the ratio of generalists to specialists has been decreasing. ⋯ While they are in general agreement with the AAMC policy statement, they feel the recommended strategies fall short of the need. They maintain that the AAMC statement represents an admirable but cautious approach to a daunting problem, and that the time is past when cautious approaches will suffice. The authors conclude with the hope that bolder initiatives will emerge from the new AAMC Office of Generalist Physician Programs.