http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-doctors4jun04,0,1528090.story?track=mostviewed-homepagePhysician Shortage Looms, Risking a Crisis, as Demand for Care Explodes
An aging America needs more doctors, but supply isn't keeping up. Experts fear worsening quality and dangerously long waits for appointments.
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.
-snip-
Over the next 15 years, aging baby boomers will push urologists, geriatricians and other physicians into overdrive. Their cloudy eyes alone, one study found, could boost the demand for cataract surgery by 47%.
-snip-
For a routine gynecological checkup, women faced an average wait of 23 days, the survey showed. To see a cardiologist for a heart checkup, the wait was 19 days. And to have an orthopedic surgeon check out a knee injury, the average wait was 17 days.
-snip-
"People are going to really hurt," said Dr. Richard Cooper, a professor of medicine and economics at the University of Pennsylvania. "Right now we have well-trained nurse practitioners to pick up a lot of the work, but when even they are overwhelmed, the whole thing really falls apart. We're at the cusp, and it's a little worrisome."
--------------------------------------
we are past the cusp we are screaming down - - to the mortuary stats that need to be keep track of.