The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) estimates a shortage of 68,020 full-time equivalent (FTE) primary care physicians by 2036. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) predicts a slightly smaller shortage of 20,000–40,000 primary care physicians by 2036, but only if more residency positions are funded.
Pharmacists go through extensive training while obtaining their doctorate including diagnosis and treatment of the most basic health concerns such as cholesterol, blood pressure, and diabetes. There are even board certifications in specific fields like cardiology.
Board certified pharmacists could fill the need for this shortage if they were listed as Providers with prescribing authority by Medicare. Then state Medicaid plans would have the ability to follow this designation if they want to fix the access to standard preventive and primary care needs within the state. Pharmacists are the ones that want to take people off meds but have been turned into factory workers that have no actual say in the use of their license and knowledge. Large companies such as CVS and Walgreens control everything from costs to payouts and includes their metrics to make sure patients fill more medicine.