THIS can't keep up.
Toss in a physician shortage...
No doctors in the house?
(http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/health/73340,CST-NWS-famdocs27.article)
September 27, 2006
BY JIM RITTER Health Reporter
The family doctor is the backbone of medicine, but it's getting harder and harder to find one.
A "serious shortfall" of family doctors is developing in nearly every state, including Illinois, according to a report released today by the American Academy of Family Physicians.
By 2020, the nation will need 39 percent more family doctors to meet the needs of a growing and aging population. The demand in Illinois will grow by 28 percent, the report said.
"People will have a harder and harder time finding the most precious commodity in medicine, a personal medical home," said Dr. Larry Fields, president of the family physicians academy.
Family doctors see patients of all ages for preventive care, routine illnesses and chronic conditions such as diabetes and asthma.
Despite the shortage, patients probably still will be able to see their family doctors within 24 to 48 hours for urgent needs and two or three weeks for routine visits, said Dr. Javette Orgain, first vice president of the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians.
But as the shortage increases, more family doctors will close their practices to new patients. Many patients, especially in inner city and rural areas, will have to travel farther or won't be able to find a family doctor at all. Unserved patients will wind up going to emergency rooms or seeing specialists. The quality of this fragmented care will go down as the cost goes up, Fields said.
Dr. Matthew Johnson had no patients when he opened a family practice in Park Forest in 2004. By the end of 2005, Johnson's practice was full with 2,000 patients. He has taken on a partner and they now have 3,000 patients.
"Demand for our services has exploded," Johnson said.
'On the verge of collapse'
But the demand is unlikely to be met, because fewer young doctors are going into family medicine. They're scared off by long hours, being on call nights and weekends, insurance hassles and comparatively low pay.
In the past decade, the number of U.S. medical school graduates going into family medicine has decreased by 52 percent. Shortages also are developing among primary care pediatricians and internists, who treat adults.
The American College of Physicians, which represents internists, warned earlier this year that primary care "is on the verge of collapse. Very few young physicians are going into primary care and those already in practice are under such stress that they are looking for an exit strategy."
To relieve the shortage, the family physicians academy recommends training more family doctors, boosting pay and reforming liability laws.
jritter@suntimes.com
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