Doctor shortage looms

[DesertFox]

Lisa Girion
Los Angeles Times
4 June 06


A looming doctor shortage threatens to create a national healthcare crisis by further limiting access to physicians, jeopardizing quality and accelerating cost increases.

Twelve states — including California, Texas and Florida — report some physician shortages now or expect them within a few years. Across the country, patients are experiencing or soon will face shortages in at least a dozen physician specialties, including cardiology and radiology and several pediatric and surgical subspecialties.

The shortages are putting pressure on medical schools to boost enrollment, and on lawmakers to lift a cap on funding for physician training and to ease limits on immigration of foreign physicians, who already constitute 25% of the white-coated workforce.

But it may be too late to head off havoc for at least the next decade, experts say, given the long lead time to train surgeons and other specialists.

More (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-doctors4jun04,0,7252831,full.story?coll=la-home-headlines)

[Betrayed]

Lower the price of education, and that may give people an incentive to pursue higher end jobs.

[Rink]

What do you expect when you have millions of illegals bankrupting hospitals and making their workload so great doctors burn out and/or get booted because hospitals cannot afford to pay them anymore?

This is a direct result of the Fed Gov refusing to compensate hospitals for healthcare to people who either cant or wont pay for medical care and the hospitals have to pay for it irregardless and are forced by law to provide that care, yet on the other hand they are NOT being compensated for that forcing of hosptials to give that care regardles of whether people can or wont pay or not.

Its killing the Physician industry, its a surefire incentive NOT to enter the medical profession knowing you're working too much, too many hours for little pay and being held accountable to sue-happy idiots and/or cost-cutting hospitals who cant afford to bankroll non-paying people without some sort of compensation or cost-cutting somewhere.

Between the lawsuits and the illegals soaking the hospitals for medical care its wrecking the health care industry like mad.

[Eagle1]

if they would just change the legal immigration requirements to allow actual numbers of skilled immigrants, this would be fine.

lowering education cost isnt the answer, returning the position to the status it was once in would take care of any home grown applications
who wants to be a doctor when half of your gross earning go to malpractice and the other half go to taxes?

[Rink]

Personally they need to drop the 'medical care irregardless of whether you can pay or not' and make them pay.

If they cant pay then gee sorry health care isnt a right, its a priviledge.

Too many arent paying as it is.

We're starting to see the results of this now.

[Eagle1]

and no more taxpayer funded comsetic surgery. i only have anecdotal evidence on this but even those few cases are enough to anger me. i have no idea how much of our tax money goes to lipo or gastric bypass, but if you cant pay for it it shouldnt happen

[DesertFox]

Don't end it before my face gets worked on and I look like a 35-year- old Robert Redford.

[Foquet]

If you can find a doc who can do that, then I want him/her to make my hair like it was back in the Alice Cooper days. (That is long ,thick and there) :grin:

[DesertFox]

But Nos, I'm told that all the ladies like a circumcized bald head.

[Rink]

Hey dont kick them bald fellers, for those of us who like that its just more to kiss ;)

[Foquet]

Hey dont kick them bald fellers, for those of us who like that its just more to kiss ;)

Aww...blush....:moo: :blush:

[Rink]

He he he I like it when a man blushes.... so sweet ;)