Family Physicians Working at Hospitals: A 20-Year Nationwide Trend Analysis in Taiwan

Abstract

Family physicians play an essential role as gatekeepers in primary health care. However, most studies in the past focused on the geographic maldistribution of family physicians, and few studies focused on the distribution of family physicians between private practices and hospitals. This study aims to analyze the trends in practice locations of family physicians in Taiwan between 1999 and 2018, using the databases of the Taiwan Association of Family Medicine and Taiwan Medical Association. Although the annual number of physicians registered as family physicians had steadily increased from 1876 in 1999 to 3655 in 2018, the ratio of family physicians practicing in hospitals to total family physicians remained stable around 40% in the study period. Even after eliminating the trainees who were entirely registered at hospitals, the proportion of hospital-based family physicians still accounted for about one-third of the total in each year. In conclusion, family physicians had been continuously demanded by hospitals in Taiwan. If the supply of primary care-oriented family physicians is insufficient outside hospitals, health manpower planning would require urgent adjustments.

Bibliographic Analysis of Primary Health Care Publications in the Asian Pacific Region: An Analysis of the Web of Science Database from 2011 to 2023

“…Taiwan has a relatively low number of papers published in the PHC category and a relatively high number of publications in other category journals [17]. Family medicine in Taiwan is dedicated to the advancement of the specialty through continuous teaching, research, and advocacy initiatives [18,19]. Fostering collaborations with other medical specialties, as well as gaining support from healthcare institutions and legislators, is critical for the long-term expansion and recognition of family medicine as an essential component of Taiwan's healthcare system [7,20].…”