The number of medical students is on the rise, and it's likely to stay that way. Most of the nation's medical schools have plans to expand enrollment, and several new schools are slated to open in the coming years. It's part of an effort led by the Association of American Colleges to increase the supply of physicians. But, according to Dr. David Goodman, a researcher at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, it's also a mistake. As detailed in the feature "The Supply Side of Medicine," Goodman argues that producing more physicians is not the answer to fixing what ails the nation's health-care system. Goodman has spoken to Dartmouth Medicine in the past about his research, and below are links to an audio interview and a video interview with him. Also listed below are just a few of the many articles and reports that have been published discussing the issue, with links to the abstracts or, where available, the full text.

Audio

• A conversation with David Goodman from 2008

Video

• An interview with David Goodman from 2006

Articles
A list of just a few of the many articles discussing the physician-workforce debate:

• 2008, Association of American Medical Schools, "The complexities of physician supply and demand: Projections through 2025."
  
  
• 2008, The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, "Tracking the care of patients with severe chronic illness".
  
  
• 2008, Goodman, David and Kevin Grumbach, "Does having more physicians lead to better health system performance?" Journal of the American Medical Association 299 (3):335-337.
  
  
• 2008, Goodman, David and Elliott Fisher, "Physician workforce crisis? Wrong diagnosis, wrong prescription," New England Journal of Medicine 358 (16): 1658-1661.
  
  
• 2007, Weiner, Jonathan, "Expanding the U.S. medical workforce: Global perspectives and parallels," British Medical Journal 335 (7613): 236-8.
  
  
• 2006, Salsberg, Edward and Atul Grover, "Physician workforce shortages: Implications and issues for academic health centers and policymakers," Academic Medicine 81 (9):782-787.
  
  
• 2005, Association of American Medical Colleges, "The physician workforce: Position statement".
  
  
• 2005, Salsberg, Edward, "The need for real evidence in physician workforce decision making," Health Affairs web exclusive.
  
  
• 2005, Starfield, Barbara, et al., "The effects of specialist supply on populations' health: Assessing the evidence," Health Affairs web exclusive.
  
  
• 2004, Blumenthal, David, "New steam from an old cauldron--The physician supply debate," New England Journal of Medicine 350 (17): 1780-1787.
  
  
• Goodman, David, "Twenty-year trends in regional variations in the U.S. physician workforce," Health Affairs web exclusive.
  
  
• 2002, Cooper, Richard, et al., "Economic and demographic trends signal an impending physician shortage," Health Affairs 21 (1):140-154.