88

Debates about the health workforce in France and other member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have been dominated in recent decades by the issue of workforce shortages and how to address them. In France, over the past ten years, debates have focused more specifically on the issue of “medical deserts,” defined either broadly as any problem with accessing doctors or hospitals in certain regions, or more specifically as problems with accessing general practitioners. This article provides an overview of the health workforce in France and other OECD countries in 2019 (just before the pandemic) and of developments over the previous twenty years, focusing on physicians and nurses. In France, as in almost all OECD countries, the number of doctors and nurses per capita increased between 2000 and 2019, but at different rates and perhaps not enough to meet the growing needs of aging populations, resulting in persistent shortage problems. Policies to address workforce shortages include increasing the training and recruitment of new physicians and nurses, as well as improving working conditions and compensation for lower-paid staff to increase job attractiveness and reduce attrition. This article compares the level and evolution of remuneration of doctors and nurses in France and other OECD countries, while pointing out the limits of the comparability of available data.