It's looking like the state of Massachusetts, like many of its peers, is facing a huge physician shortage over the next decade. Part of the expected shortage is driven by a loss of physicians due to retirement, though other sources have noted that the demand for primary care physicians created by the state's health plan has exacerbated the issue.
According to the Massachusetts Medical Society, only 13 percent of the state's practicing doctors are 35 or younger, which should result in a rapid aging out of much of the existing physician population. That's part and parcel with the national trend reported by the American Medical Association, which has concluded that the percentage of physicians age 55 or older has grown from 34 percent in 1992 to a whopping 44 percent last year.
To learn more about the pending shortage:
- read this Boston Herald piece
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