Could Nursing Home Physician Specialty Remedy Workforce Crisis in Long-term Care?

More than 1.6 million Americans live in nursing homes. Nursing home residents are frail, and often suffer from medically complex issues. However, according to researchers, the quality of care in nursing homes remains inconsistent and suboptimal. The authors propose that creating a nursing home medical specialty could help to remedy some of these significant care issues. The researchers suggest that a nursing home specialist should be characterized in three dimensions: the degree of physicians' commitment to caring for nursing home patients; the physicians' practice competencies; and the structure of the medical staff organization in which they practice. The authors recognize significant challenges associated with developing such a specialty. Currently, mainstream medicine does not recognize the nursing home as a legitimate practice site. In addition, policymakers would need to appreciate the links between physician practice and quality of care. And, finally, the specialty would need to ... more