A systems life cycle approach to managing the radiology profession: an Australian perspective.

Conclusion We posit that Australia may need to design a new system of radiology provision to meet future demands for high-quality medical radiation services. We also suggest some strategies, such as greater development of radiographers' role, are critical for enabling sustainable change over time. What is known about the topic? Long-term workforce planning for medical services at the national level has been very challenging for policy makers of the 21st century. The current demographic imbalance in the supply and demand of the Australian radiologist workforce makes it difficult to plan the effects of extra inflow of radiology students over time. What does this paper add? This paper discovers the current situation facing the Australian Radiology profession and identifies all the factors that influence the long-term matching of radiologist workforce supply and demand. This Australian case study adds to the current literature of medical workforce planning and its challenges. Moreover, this paper answers how the problem of workforce imbalance can be solved through a sustainable change over time. What are the implications for practitioners? Conventional responses in Australia and many developed countries in response to radiological services demand have been to increase the number of radiologists. However, our models and analyses show that this is not an all-inclusive long-term solution: merely increasing the number of radiologists will not result in a balance between supply and de...
Source: Australian Health Review - Category: Hospital Management Authors: Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: research