The physician workforce in Kuwait to the year 2020.

The study addresses the supply of and demand for physicians in Kuwait in the light of the emerging variables such as increasing population, economic growth, changes in healthcare strategies, and expansion of healthcare facilities. The objective of the study was to project the future demand for physicians in Kuwait for the years 2007-2020 based on the period 1994-2006. Population projections were derived using the average annual natural increase rate of the 1994-2006 populations. The future demand for physicians was predicted using the average physician to population ratio for the years 1994-2006. The average annual growth rate of indigenous physicians during the period 1994-2006 was 4.08% compared to 2.83% for non-native expatriot physicians. There is a gap between the numbers of native and foreign physicians. In 2006, native physicians constituted 36.6% of the physician workforce in Kuwait. The disparity between the total number of physicians needed and the number of native physicians is expected to decline from 62.14% in 2007 to 48.1% in 2020. The supply of indigenous physicians should be increased. Without shared culture and language, it will be difficult to provide effective and efficient medical care to the people of Kuwait. This can be achieved through an improvement in recruitment and retention of indigenous physicians and medical students. There is also a need for establishment of a standing advisory committee for continuous monitoring of physician workforce planning and policy strategies in Kuwait. Copyright 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.