There is a growing endocrinologist shortage
“‘The shortage has several causes’, said Dr. Paul S. Jellinger of Hollywood, former president of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.
Endocrinologists make a median salary of $179,000, a bit more in the South, according to Medical Group Management Association, an industry group. By comparison, a typical specialist makes $296,500, including $349,500 among cardiologists and $351,600 among gastroenterologists, the MGMA said.
Also, endocrinologists generally spend twice as long with patients as does a family doctor, Jellinger said, because complex diseases like diabetes and obesity require a large amount of advice about diet and lifestyle. But insurers pay about the same as for a basic checkup.
‘It takes a lot of time to get it right for the patient,’ Jellinger said. ‘In today’s managed care environment, the payers tend to reward procedures. That makes the younger doctors tend to gravitate toward the procedure-oriented fields.'”
