40% of Doctors surveyed claim they will choose to give up medicine if the democrats plan is passed. The AMA states the doctor shortage will worsen if the Obama plan is passed. The medical profession is under attack by our politicians, who will now dictate our medical care, and government bureaucrats will decide how much doctors can charge. Why would any one enter the medical profession under these conditions ? One way to end the doctor shortage is to reduce government regulations of the health care industry.

become one?

I believe we need to encourage more nurse practitioners - they perform many of the functions doctors do (and can write prescriptions), but the job does not require the many years of education that an M.D. does.

libertarian - 73% of physicians support health care reform, so, the figure that 40% would give up medicine is surprising to me. besides, most $420,000 radiologists aren't going to be able to get paid that well pumping gas at the local exxon station. SHORTAGE OF DOCTORS - first, medical schools are restricting access and they must increase the number of students accepted and graduates. with time being of the essence, we have to get a lot of folks out there. first, Nurse Practitioners are, indeed, an excellent source. 850 schools nationwide could accept 12 extra students a year and the need would be met. Physician's Assistant programs are also becoming increasingly vital. SHORTAGE OF DOCTORS - the average US doctor spends 3 times more hours on paperwork than docs in other economically developed nations. by cutting doctor's paperwork IN HALF (150% of others), we'd be able to have the full time equivalent of 60,000 more doctors practicing medicine.

The problem is less an overall shortage of doctors than it is a shortage of primary care doctors. (Although there definitely is a shortgage of some specialties.) Primary care doctors should be the "first line of defense" when a patient interacts with the health care system. Too often it's the emergency department doctor, but that's a whole 'nother story. Medical students are increasingly choosing not to go into primary care for multiple reasons: 1.) Reimbursement rates. Primary care internists can spend a hour with a patient going over medications and specialist recommendations and get reimbursed less than a specialist would for a procedure that takes 15 minutes. Often, the care coordination is done with a patient over the phone, and that isn't reimbursed at all. 2.) Personal debt. With student loans skyrocketing and pay declining, med students are voting with their feet to find more lucrative specialties. 3.) Perceived lack of respect from specialists and people in general. How to solve this? Well, the quick answer is to say "increase reimbursement to primary care." Unfortunately, the money's gotta come from somewhere, and specialists are fighting tooth and nail to avoid it coming from them. I don't think there are any easy answers. This will probably be unpopular, but I don't think nurse practitioners/physicians assistants are necessarily the answer. To the person who answered, "they perform many of the functions doctors do (and can write prescriptions), but the job does not require the many years of education that an M.D. does," I say that there's a reason for the many years of education and training. NPs and PAs generate more specialist referrals than M.D.s, who probably feel more comfortable dealing with certain issues on their own. If we increase specialist referrals, that exacerbates the physician shortage issue. Like I said, I don't think there is any easy answer. Wailing about "death panels" certainly isn't helping things, though.

create competition. currently, doctors are choosing to study more profitable areas like plastic surgery over general care. reason, more money. in a capital driven market, people go for what pays the most. so make it as profitable for doctors to become general practitioners than plastic surgeons.

I see one of the biggest problems as doctors are not allowed to do their job. Insurance companies are now dictating patient treatment. When a doctor knows a patient needs something, and the insurance companies say no, it is a frustration. When a patient needs certain meds and the insurance companies say no, it is a frustration as well. The problem is, it is never the insurance company that gets the flack, or rarely. The doctor is there, they are supposed to 'fix' things, so why haven't they done so? Another thing I see is the high cost in hospitals for things. Hospitals can set their own rates for many things. As an example, in California, One of the most dramatic price differences is seen in the "comprehensive metabolic panel," a blood test usually consisting of 14 analyses that look for abnormalities in the liver and kidneys, as well as checking blood sugar and other measures of health. The test is $97 at San Francisco General, where prices for some procedures are so low that officials are considering ramping up certain charges to get in line with competitors. "It is kind of embarrassing," says Gregg Sass, chief financial officer at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, which oversees the hospital. The blood test costs $197 at Scripps. But the fee rockets to $576 at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles and $743 at Sutter General in Sacramento. At Doctors Medical Center in Modesto, the price is about $1,733 -- or 17 times the price at San Francisco General. Many doctors are forbidden from seeing patients for 'free' or low cost, unless they work in a clinic. They do not get to set their own fees, so see patients' conditions worsen, or see them vanish. The stress load has to be horrendous. There are doctors that don't care. They tend to, as Dr. Dredd said, go into specialist fields. They want the money. Those that care, often burn out.