Posted on 04/27/2009 4:22:50 PM PDT by neverdem
WASHINGTON Obama administration officials, alarmed at doctor shortages, are looking for ways to increase the supply of physicians to meet the needs of an aging population and millions of uninsured people who would gain coverage under legislation championed by the president.
The officials said they were particularly concerned about shortages of primary care providers who are the main source of health care for most Americans.
One proposal to increase Medicare payments to general practitioners, at the expense of high-paid specialists has touched off a lobbying fight.
Family doctors and internists are pressing Congress for an increase in their Medicare payments. But medical specialists are lobbying against any change that would cut their reimbursements. Congress, the specialists say, should find additional money to pay for primary care and should not redistribute dollars among doctors a difficult argument at a time of huge budget deficits.
Some of the proposed solutions, while advancing one of President Obamas goals, could frustrate others. Increasing the supply of doctors, for example, would increase access to care but could make it more difficult to rein in costs.
The need for more doctors comes up at almost every Congressional hearing and White House forum on health care. Were not producing enough primary care physicians, Mr. Obama said at one forum. The costs of medical education are so high that people feel that theyve got to specialize. New doctors typically owe more than $140,000 in loans when they graduate.
Lawmakers from both parties say the shortage of health care professionals is already having serious consequences. We dont have enough doctors in primary care or in any specialty, said Representative Shelley Berkley, Democrat of Nevada.
Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, said, The work force shortage is reaching crisis proportions.
Even people with insurance have...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Well, the alternative is criminal cases, in the case of negligence.
That would be rich. Importing doctors from the UK. At least they already know how socialized medicine should run. No training for them.
“All they have to do is make MD an undergraduate course and award MDs to everyone now in school who has passed an anatomy class. Thus our English style New Medicine can have the same talented doctors that England is declining to. The cream of the English medical crop are in Asia- India and Thailand- practicing freemarket medicine.”
An appointment at my primary care physician goes something like this:
Doc: Hello. What’s wrong today?
Me: Check up.
Doc: You look fatter. Scale says you are up 12 pounds.
Me: Pressure, stress.
Doc: You allergic to any drugs?
Me: No
Doc: Here’s a sample for Crestor. Here’s a prescription. Also, go take a blood test.
Me: OK
Doc: Turn your head and cough.
Me: Cough.
Doc: Hmmm...
Me: What?
Doc: Oh nothing. Anything else I can do for you? Your heart is beating, you have a pulse and there are no veggies growing out of your ears.
Me: Nope, that’s about it.
Doc: Ok. Go to the front and pay the admin.
15 minutes, in and out. I will be more than happy to do that for 100 kwatloos. Tell Bambi to give me a call.
November 18, 2008
BOSTONA survey released today by The Physicians Foundation depicts widespread frustration and concern among primary care physicians nationwide, which could lead to a dramatic decrease in practicing doctors in the near future. The survey examined the causes behind the doctors dissatisfaction, the state of their practices and the future of care. The resulting findings show the possibility of significantly decreased access for Americans in the years ahead, as many doctors are forced to reduce the number of patients they see or quit the practice of medicine outright.
An overwhelming majority 78 percent of physicians believe that there is an existing shortage of primary care doctors in the United States today. Additionally, nearly half of them 49 percent, or more than 150,000 practicing doctors say that over the next three years they plan to reduce the number of patients they see or stop practicing entirely.
Going into this project we generally knew about the shortage of physicians; what we didnt know is how much worse it could get over the next few years, said Lou Goodman, PhD, President, The Physicians Foundation. The bottom line is that the person youve known as your family doctor could be getting ready to disappear and there might not be a replacement.
The Physicians Foundation believes the future of primary care could have a significant impact on the American healthcare debate.
At a time when the new Administration and new Congress are talking about ways to expand access to healthcare, the harsh reality is that there might not be enough doctors to handle the increased number of people who might want to see them if they get health insurance, said Walker Ray, MD, Vice President, The Physicians Foundation. Its as if were talking about expanding access to higher education without having enough professors to handle the influx of students. Its basic supply and demand.
The reported reasons for the widespread frustration among physicians include increased time dealing with non-clinical paperwork, difficulty receiving reimbursement and burdensome government regulations. Physicians say these issues keep them from the most satisfying aspect of their job: patient relationships.
Tens of thousands of primary care doctors face the same problems as millions of ordinary citizens: frustrations in dealing with HMOs and government red tape, said Sandra Johnson, Board Member, The Physicians Foundation. The thing we heard over and over again from the physicians was that theyre unhappy they cant spend more time with their patients, which is why they went into primary care in the first place.
Survey Executive Summary (45K) [download]
Survey Key Findings (46K) [download]
Complete Survey Report & Analysis (731K) [download]
More in Press Releases
-- from THIS website
Thanks for the text & links.
Wise words. Every doc I have worked with got frustrated with the insurance companies and ICD9 codes telling them how to treat their patients. The volumes of paper work and denials of claim coverage has been discouraging. I have never worked with a doc who did not work long hours and genuinely enjoyed caring for their patients. The gov’t and insurance companies are keeping them from doing what is in their nature. I had one doc have a “moment” when he finally just said all he wanted to do was take care of his patients. What a shame that he can no longer do that. He retired shortly after that.
He was truly an exceptional doc, as are many many others. If they start providing monetary incentives it will turn into the “nursing shortage” crisis. I have never seen so many people go into the nursing field because of the bonuses and salary who have not one speck of caring and compassion. They are just interested in how much money they can make, patients can take a hike. I know the nursing field will eventually weed them out, but to see this breaks my heart.
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