Boston Globe editorial asks, "Where have all the doctors gone?"

Patient Safety Monitor Alert

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May 28, 2008

The next major crisis in U.S. healthcare, particularly as many states move to a universal coverage model, will be a shortage of doctors—particularly primary care doctors and geriatricians, says Joseph B. Martin, professor of neurobiology, former dean of Harvard Medical School, and chairman of the New England Healthcare Institute. In his May 27 Boston Globe editorial, he presents some facts: Less than 5% of medical school graduates intend to become a primary care physician and today more than 50% of medical school graduates are women, who often want a more flexible work schedule.

Most alarming, however, is the current reimbursement model that encourages medical school students to choose a career in a field that unlike primary care, does not teach patients to focus on prevention of disease and illness. Martin suggests that there be a fundamental shift in how we develop new physicians. They must be taught to focus on the team aspect of care with many specialists working together.

To read the editorial, click here.