Physicians in British Columbia are retiring earlier than previously thought and many are reducing their working hours in the years leading up to retirement, which could be leading to inflated projections about the availability of physicians, according to new research by the University of British Columbia.
The authors, from UBC and Simon Fraser University, hypothesize that burnout of rural physicians may be behind earlier retirement or possibly lower cost of living meaning there is less financial motivation to continue working.
Lindsay Hedden
“Regardless of the reason, early retirement in these communities is of particular concern, given that many rural areas are known to have substantial difficulties recruiting and retaining physicians,” says the study, published Dec. 11 in CMAJ.
The research team, including lead author Lindsay Hedden, a postdoctoral fellow at the School of Population and Public Health, looked at more than 4,500 physicians aged 50 years or older in B.C., along with payment data.
“Current planning efforts that rely on physician licensure data are vulnerable to overestimation of physician supply, because they do not account for physicians who are maintaining an active licence while no longer practicing or the reduction in workload associated with the pre-retirement years,” conclude the authors.
About 40% of physicians reduced their practice activity by more than 10% leading up to retirement. Female physicians and those practicing in rural areas are retiring earlier than data suggests, with female physicians retiring 4.1 years earlier than male physicians and rural doctors retiring 2.3 years earlier than those in large metropolitan centres.
“Retirement and pre-retirement activity represent complex decisions for physicians, and pose challenges for decision-makers charged with health human resources planning,” write the authors.