The usual suspects are reasons: malpractice, reimbursement and high cost of living.
One new reason is cited however. The rise of concierge practices:
Dr. Greenwald also noted another significant reason for physician shortages ““ not a physical lack of physicians, but rather many physicians changing to so-called “concierge” medicine . . .. . . Greenwald said this means that when one doctor leaves general private practice and become a concierge practitioner, “then about 1,500 persons lose their doctor” ““ effectively creating a physician shortage, even when the actual number of local doctors hasn’t changed.
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- Female physicians and the Canadian doctor shortage
- Females are being blamed for the physician shortage
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{ 7 comments }
I was just down there interviewing for a job. HMO penetration is bad (about 50%). Illegal alien/uninsured population is high. When property tax and homeowners insurance are combined, housing costs are as high as Long Island and Westchester, NY. The malpractice environment is acidic and stiffles risk taking and the adoption of new techniques and technology. Also, there are panhandlers and drug addicts everywhere!! I am now looking in the counties north of Palm Beach where things are a little better.
Clearly, you’re not sufficiently dedicated to medicine!
I take it the hook in this story is the fact that concierge medicine is a factor in the physician shortage. I can’t argue that because it makes clear sense. 1 MD seeing 600 instead of 3000-5000 will cause this. But it has to reach a sort of critical mass before concierge medicine can be a real cause for major physician shortage. With the exception of Boca Raton (where MDVIP started and is headquartered), concierge medicine is clearly not a major- or even minor cause of physician shortages.
800,000 MDs. Less than 400 of them are concierge docs. That means we represent <0.05% of practicing physicians. Hardly a reason to blame physician shortages.
Nice try Kevin but this gloom/doom scenario that major proponents use to shut down & argue against concierge medicine is just not reality for 95% of the US population- unless you live in Boca Raton.
Gloom and doom is Kevin’s stock in trade.
Concierge medicine is just a response to market conditions which fills a specific niche and not a cause of those conditions. When America’s wealthy concentrate in and drive up the cost of living in certain locations, and at the same time physicians income is artificially restricted by price controls, it is perfectly logical that physicians, like school teachers and other middle class service personel are going to be in short supply in those communities for to live there is to accept economic hardship.
In a free market, the problem would correct itself as fees would float up to cover the expense of living there (like other businesses do). As it is, some old rich fart retired to Florida from Manhatten still is the recepient of forced charity thanks to Medicare fee restrictions. Little wonder docs decide to go places where the cost of living allows them to live with those fee restrictions and still make it financially.
Does this mean the Yankees will go back to their own country?
You lost the war, we are one country. Get over it.
a yankee
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