Editor's Corner
Physician Shortage: Recruit or Reorganize?
This week there was a lot of talk about the physician shortages, principally in the area of primary care. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, patients in a number of states will face a serious family physician shortage by the year 2020. And a study released by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) found that primary care physicians' pay increased only 3.89 percent in 2005. The group says that the small increase isn't in line with the amount of work that primary care docs do.
On the surface, it seems obvious that the nation will face a shortage of doctors in the coming years. As a growing number of people reach retirement age, they're going to need more doctor's visits, more procedures, and more time in the hospital. The baby boomers who, as we all know, won't be hitting old age until three years after they're dead, will be crowding into doctor's offices and hospitals across the nation. If the number of new doctors remains stagnant--or drops--there's going to be an increasingly strong demand for fewer and fewer doctors. And lets not forget that many practicing doctors are baby boomers themselves and are headed for retirement.
But are we really facing a shortage, or is this just a symptom of an inefficient healthcare system? Earlier this year, Matthew Holt of The Health Care Blog challenged the claim that there will be a physician shortage. "The powers that be in health care are advocating more money to come directly from the taxpayer into the system to train more doctors, who will then cost the nation much more when they go into practice. Of course that's a much easier answer for them than rational reorganization of the health care system," he argued. Perhaps it's just the distribution of doctors that's the problem, since the number of primary care doctors are decreasing and the number of high-paid specialists is on the rise. So, is it time to recruit new doctors or to reorganize our current system? Email me with your thoughts. - Maureen
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Comments
By Audrey | Posted 1:16pm | September 29, 2006
Hi Maureen,
Not only are we facing a shortage of physicians, but also a shortage of nurses. If you look at the average age of a nurse, he/she is in mid to late 40's. Wow, what a frightening thought. I am an RN and have seen many hospitals close due to increasing costs that are absorbed by hospitals because patients cannot pay due to no or poor health insurance benefits.
I also see larger health care businesses gobbling up smaller hospitals and providers, then provide inpersonable care at assembly line like care, or put clinics in the place of a higher level care facilities. I think that rural areas will hurt the most. I am looking at our own surrounding communities here in upstate NY and see "clinics" popping up that do not/cannot provide high level care. You not only have to travel farther for a hospital but try to find an ambulance service if you need one. Many communities can't even find enough volunteers to man the ambulances and even the paid services are pulling out because reimbursement is poor. I don't know what the answer is but I point my finger at insurance companies who not only raise premiums and then increase co-pays and deductibles that a person needs to meet and turn around to reimburse a physician the lowest possible payment. Who is making a profit? certainly not physicians. I would like to see Washington look at countries who provide their citizens with complete healthcare and use them as a model that we can use to develop our own system here in the US. I could go on and on and now believe that I am ranting so I will sign off. Thanks for the opportunity to vent.
By Anonymous | Posted 9:44pm | January 31, 2008
How about more Walk-in Clinics, and an exercise campaign?
I notice that heart disease and stroke are down substantially, by over 25% in just a few years. What's to stop this continuing? Obesity and lack of exercise. So why don't we concentrate on those two issues?
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