Results From The 2015 GME Matches: GME Positions Continue To Grow

Recently the preliminary results from the 2015 National Resident Matching Program® (NRMP®) and the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) Match were released. While final Match data from the NRMP will be released later this spring, the preliminary results from both programs provide important insights on Graduate Medical Education (GME) trends of interest in the policy community. Three issues are of particular interest in the policy community: Are GME positions continuing to grow? While many people thought that GME positions would not increase after the Medicare program capped the number of positions the program would pay for in 1997, studies tracking GME through 2010 showed that GME positions continued to grow at about 1 percent per year. With new financial pressures on hospitals, will this growth end or even reverse? How does the number of entry-level GME positions compare to the number of US graduates (MD and DO)? With the number of US graduates growing rapidly due to increases in enrollment and new schools coming on line, are there sufficient GME positions for all graduates? Are more physicians, particularly US graduates, selecting primary care specialties? A number of new programs and incentives in the Affordable Care Act were in response to calls for an increase in the number of physicians going into primary care. Is there any indication these incentives are working? Data Sources GME matching programs are the connection between medical education and graduate medic...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Featured Health Professionals AOA GME Graduate medical education Match Day matching programs NRMP Physicians Primary Care Source Type: blogs