According to CIA.gov in 2011 the United States had 2.45 physicians per 1,000 citizens. The United States is home to arguably the smartest and best trained doctors in the world. These doctors have access to cutting edge medical technology and training. But America has fewer doctors per capita than such healthcare power houses as Uzbekistan, Mongolia and Latvia. That is right, Latvia; it is north of Poland and Lithuania and due west from Moscow. (I had to look it up, thank you Google Maps)
So now you are wondering: Wait, I live in America, the greatest nation in the world, and I am more likely to find a doctor available in Latvia? I had the same thought; the problem is that we have a limited number of residencies in our country.
Graduates from medical schools have to go through a year-long residency to obtain an unrestricted license to practice medicine in many jurisdictions. Most residencies are funded by Medicare in the U.S. and there have been very few increases in the amount funded since Congress froze the number in 1997 as part of the Balanced Budget Act.
According to an article in the Washington Post it costs about $145,000 to train a doctor and would cost about $9.1 billion to fix the 63,000 doctor shortage. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges the U.S. will face a shortage of 90,000 doctors by 2025. Add to these facts that by 2025 nearly one quarter of the U.S. population will be 65 and older and the impact of this problem only worsens. The majority of people who live beyond 65 years old begin to suffer from multiple chronic health issues. The issue becomes one of supply and demand; there simply will not be enough doctors to manage the demand produced by the aging population unless we begin to make changes now.
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DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
4 comments:
Honestly how can you blame them ?? With the interference if government and insurance they go to school slim those tears only to be dictated on how they can run their business. A lot of my regular doctors are frustrated and questioning their career choices now with all the regulations. We are truly becoming a socialist country
This was exactly what the AMA wanted. That is why there is a shortage of residencies in hospitals.That is why the deal was made in 97.
blame our shortage of supply on thew American University system that spends massive capital in graduating Liberal Arts majors and Lawyers ..while setting a ceiling for their Medical school enrollment ...Seeding the landscape with Marxists is much more important to many of them.
I graduated medical school with $250,000 debt and made $29,000/ year during residency while the interest in my loans compounded. Non-funded government mandates coupled with reimbursement at roughly $0.22 on the dollar have actually driven well trained physicians to seek other sources of income only to find out that we are not able to seek other sources of income without being reported via the Sunshine Act. Oh well.
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