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Opinion

Estimating a Sustainable Workload in Primary Care: Implications on the Physician Shortage

CLARK TRAPP, MD, MBA, FAAFP

FPM. 2026;33(4):7-9.

Author disclosure: no relevant financial relationships.

In many practices, the primary care workload is unsustainable. Establishing a more reasonable one is, paradoxically, key to addressing the workforce shortage.

Dr. Trapp, a family physician, has a post-graduate certificate in data analytics, is a graduate of the AAFP's Leading Physician Well-Being program, and is a trainee of the National Wellbeing Educators Program. He is core faculty, clinical director, director of didactics, and director of academic projects for the Family Medicine Residency Program, Conway Regional Health Systems, Conway, Ark.

Author disclosure: no relevant financial relationships.

  1. 1.Fred HL, Scheid MS. Physician burnout: causes, consequences, and (?) cures. Tex Heart Inst J. 2018;45(4):198-202.
  2. 2.Variation and queue theory. Sheffield Microsystem Coaching Academy.
  3. 3.State of the Primary Care Workforce, 2025. HRSA; December 2025. https://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/bureau-health-workforce/data-research/State-of-the-Primary-Care-Workforce-2025.pdf
  4. 4.Slideshow: a week in the life of a family physician. FPM. 2023. Accessed June 10, 2026. https://www.aafp.org/fpm/multimedia/fp-hours-compensation
  5. 5.Murray M, Davies M, Boushon B. Panel size: how many patients can one doctor manage?. Fam Pract Manag. 2007;14(4):44-51.

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