Published 24 August 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b3431
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b3431

News

Shortfall of family doctors means US faces "absolute crisis" by 2020

Janice Hopkins Tanne

1 New York

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

A predicted shortfall of 40 000 family doctors in the United States by 2020 has sparked fears that there will be too few doctors to cope with increased demand, including that arising from Barack Obama’s proposals for healthcare reform.

The country faces "an absolute crisis" in the provision of primary care doctors, said Ted Epperly, president of the 93 000 member American Academy of Family Physicians, which raised the alarm.

Students about to start medical school will be entering practice in 2020, but only one in 10 medical students currently enters primary care residencies; the rest all opt for specialties, Dr Epperly said. "We’re poised to do healthcare reform, but we don’t have a sufficient workforce." If Congress passes the reform bills, around 47 million Americans who are currently uninsured will gain access to regular care.

President Obama has also emphasised the importance of preventive care; and organisations such as . . . [Full text of this article]


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An elegant solution
Margaret E Allen
bmj.com, 26 Aug 2009 [Full text]
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