Posted on 07/19/2010 8:38:03 PM PDT by Spktyr
Six out of nine regions in California have a shortage of primary care physicians, and the problem may be worsening: With nearly 30 percent of our physicians more than 60 years old, more doctors are nearing retirement here than in any other state.
The findings are part of a report on the state's physician supply, published last week by the California HealthCare Foundation. The report highlights geographic, ethnic and linguistic disparities among California's residents and physicians, as well as how the state compares to the rest of the nation.
California's ratio of physicians to population increased 7 percent from 1998 to 2008, but demand is expected to rise as well, with a growing senior population and more people obtaining health insurance as a result of health care reform. And many of our doctors are nearing retirement.
Twenty-nine percent of active physicians in the state are older than 60, compared to an average of 25 percent in the U.S. Dwindling supply and other barriers could harm access to care, as well as quality, for some Californians.
For example, Latinos represent 37 percent of the state's population, but 5 percent of its doctors. The disparity is even greater in the Central Coast, Inland Empire and San Joaquin Valley regions, and most severe in Los Angeles County, where 47 percent of the population and only 5 percent of doctors are Latino. Statewide, 18 percent of doctors speak Spanish.
Cultural and linguistic aspects of care can make a big difference, said Craig Paxton, author of the report and a principal at the consulting firm Cattaneo & Stroud in Burlingame, Calif. Patients often feel more comfortable describing symptoms, and providers can better assess what kind of care is most appropriate, when "somebody is seen as being within the same community," he said.
The report also found an uneven distribution of physicians, with two-thirds of the state falling short of national supply standards.
Only the Greater Bay Area, the Sacramento Area and Orange County meet the recommended primary care doctor supply set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Council on Graduate Medical Education. The council recommends 60 to 80 primary care physicians and 85 to 100 specialists per 100,000 people.
A substantial portion of California's doctors, especially those in primary care, come from out-of-state or foreign medical schools, Paxton said. One way to increase California's physician-to-patient ratio could be to bolster enrollment in University of California medical schools, he said.
California led the country in medical student retention in 2008, with 62 percent of its graduates practicing in the state, compared to a nationwide average of 39 percent of doctors practicing where they were educated. We keep 69 percent of those whose residencies were in the state.
If more Californians enroll at the five UC medical schools – and therefore pay less tuition than they would out of state – they are more likely to practice here, Paxton said.
But increasing medical school and residency head count alone is not enough, said Joanne Spetz, a community health systems professor at UC San Francisco who studies the health care work force.
"You need to be careful what fields in medicine you're opening up … (and) where those programs are," Spetz said. A primary reason why UC Riverside, in the Inland Empire, and UC Merced, in the San Joaquin Valley, are starting medical schools is to address these disparities, she said.
Riverside plans to enroll its first class of medical students in fall 2012. Merced hopes to establish its school by 2015. Building costs for Riverside are projected at $550 million; for Merced, as high as $75 million.
But the campuses could be derailed by California's budget crisis. Riverside has financial support from local leaders, private foundations and the federal government.
But without $40 million from the state during the next four years, the campus won't get up and running, said G. Richard Olds, the school's founding dean. Merced, though it recently secured $5 million from the state, is still searching for funds.
Say hello to Dr. Muhammad.
After many years of seeing the same doctor (over 40 years), he passed away a couple years ago at 87 years. Worked up near the end. Fantastic guy. Now I’m seeing a much younger doctor, he’s 75. Also great to deal with. It is tough to find good ones here in the SF bay area.
Obamacare is going to make things worse. Hello Doctor Won Hung Lo.
If you really want to be useful to others and have security and some leverage when TSHTF, or even in just tougher times, get as much medical training as you can. Attend CPR classes, get certified in whatever you can, maybe even do EMT stuff if you can. Don’t get into the doctor/nurse line unless you really want to do it, but get as much practical stuff that you can get, and as much free training as you can get. In times of need you will be better than nothing and you’ll know how to do basic things that just may be enough to save people (including yourself) and you might find yourself in a more leadership role somewhere in the chain, if you’re a knowledgeable person and show you can learn/be trained.
ObamaCare aka DeathCare will be “no” care. Say hello to the next Holocaust.
Wait til Obama care kicks in. DH and I both planning on retiring in our early 50’s when in 2014 unless sanity returns to congress.
Whoops - posting when tired. We plan on retiring in our early 50’s when the bulk of Obamacare kicks in unless sanity returns to congress.....
I am sure they will just bring in foreign doctors to fill the needed spots, my old lawn man had a doctorate from some south american country.
ROFL
The Obama "Final Solution" ...? /sarc> /hijack>
Cheers!
Good Lord, these people are worried about “ethnic and linguistic disparities” when Commie price controls are going to kill the entire supply of docs? Liberal Lunacy just never ends.
Who cares about the ethnicity and linguistic characteristics of the doc — as long as he or she speaks clear English, has excellent degrees and credentials, and a successful track record.
LOL! Hey CA you voted for this. Lots of good folks still in that hell hole. Sad.
Michael Savage had a cardiologist on tonight and the guy said he was just about broke now. He said he gets a $15 co-pay from Blue Cross and said they were worse than the Mafia.
He came from a working class family - worked like a dog for decades for this. The idiots who voted for the coup unleashed this.
I know the solution! Pay the doctors less, that way you can buy more of them with the same money.
We may do the same. If health care were *free*, we could afford to retire.
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