Managing the legal and compliance risks on the "physician retirement cliff"

As the U.S. physician workforce grows older — 20% are age 65 or older, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) — the question of how to manage aging physicians has become a pressing concern for medical group executives, compliance officers, and risk managers.  

While decades of experience offer deep clinical insight and patient trust, aging can bring cognitive and physical decline, raising serious patient safety and liability issues. 

Editor’s note: This material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Practice leaders should consult qualified legal counsel to address specific legal questions or compliance issues. 

Understanding the risk 

Aging physicians may experience declines in cognition, motor coordination, reaction time, and decision-making, all vital to the safe and effective practice of medicine. Functions such as attention, logical analysis, hand-eye coordination, and verbal memory naturally deteriorate with age. 

This deterioration isn’t uniform. Some physicians maintain sharp faculties into their 70s or 80s, while others experience early cognitive decline or suffer from health issues such as strokes or depression. However, relying solely on a physician’s self-awareness of decline is insufficient. Common early signs — such as slower task performance, increased patient complaints, and difficulty recalling words — often go unrecognized by the physicians themselves.