Quote:
Originally Posted by Piscator
We are facing a severe Primary Care Physician shortage (40,000 to 150,000 shortage within the next 10-15 years). Do a little research on it and I think you will find it to be well recognized across the board as an issue. More people to cover and less doctors result in longer wait times.
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I don't think the shortage of PCPs is going to be *that* big of an issue. With Nurse Practitioners and an increased utilization of the better-trained Physician Assistants, the vacuum is being filled. Universal Health Care, Medicare and Medicaid are all forcing M.D.'s more into a specialist role.
A single M.D. in a Primary Care office can easily oversee 3-5 NPs or PAs and be able to handle far more patients with practically no decrease in quality of care. The privately owned PCP offices saw this a long time ago. They are doing exactly the above, employing 2-3 NPs or PAs, consulting with them on care and taking any special cases on direct. NPs and PAs can do the more redundant and time-consuming physicals, while the M.D. can see more complex cases.
The nice thing about NPs and PAs is that their salary (ie. "cost") is 20-40% less than an M.D. This is the kind of stuff that should have been addressed in "heath care reform" - lower cost options that don't significantly sacrifice care.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fishbones
That's why there are fewer medical professionals working in Canada and why there are long waits in ER's and for procedures.
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Last I checked, the number of doctors per 1000ppl in Canada is not that far off from the US. On that thought... just looked it up again:
"In the
U.S, there were 2.4 doctors per 1,000 people in 2005;
in Canada, there were 2.2.[82]
Some doctors leave Canada to pursue career goals or higher pay in the U.S., though significant numbers of physicians from countries such as India, Pakistan and South Africa immigrate to practice in Canada. Many Canadian physicians and new medical graduates also go to the U.S. for post-graduate training in medical residencies. As it is a much larger market, new and cutting-edge sub-specialties are more widely available in the U.S. as opposed to Canada. However,
statistics published in 2005 by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), show that, for the first time since 1969 (the period for which data are available), more physicians returned to Canada than moved abroad.[83]"
The data is definitely somewhat dated, but shows that Canadian doctors aren't running to the US thus causing a large void of providers.
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