1. The AMA is a lobbying group and a very liberal one at that. They suck. But they do not set the number of medical school seats.
2. The doctor crunch to the extent that there is one is more based on the onerous amounts demands placed on a doctors time. This limits or reduces patient care time. If, for example, I didn’t have to spend statistically 20 minutes charting per patient to check off all the bullsh*t boxes that do nothing to contribute to patient care i and my colleagues could actually spend more time engaged in clinical care instead of being paper pushers. Charts used to be how we communicated with other physicians. Now it’s to prevent getting sued frivolously or denied payment.
I, for one, would take the risk of allowing free market economics to prevail in medicine and i think we would make a better living in that environment which would also result in an increase in quality and time delivered at bedside. And shockingly the last time I checked something like 80 - 85 cents of every dollar spent on health care went non direct patient care related expenses.
For this and many other reasons is why I believe non-clinically trained administrators are the most evil thing in healthcare. But sadly we as physicians have no one to blame but ourselves as years ago our brethren who are now retired didn’t take care of the profession because they deemed unworthy if their time. Perhaps the most stupid thing we have done as physicians and trust me there is no shortage of stupid decisions we have made relative to the business of medicine.
Not AMA looks like the folks in charge of residencies.
You are correct. Onerous and ineffective paperwork is a factor. Lack of medical staffing due to shortages is also a factor a big one. The we didn’t anticipate the change that came with feminization of medicine is poor excuse.
Non clinical administrators should be shot at dawn.