There is currently concern about a growing shortage of physicians of all specialties in the US. The bulk of the population in the US is the “baby boom” generation which is now entering retirement age. There are several problems that may develop as a result of this, the number one being that there may be more physicians retiring than there are finishing residency and the second is that this larger older population will need more care than it did when younger. Of course, Pediatrics has a different dynamic that adult medical care, but the choice of specialty caused by greater demand of other specialties and the mini boom in population of children born between 1981 and 1995 is causing a shortage for Pediatric care as well.
SHORTAGE:
Recent studies report a shortage of pediatric surgeons in the United States.
American Pediatric Surgical Association survey of members estimates current workforce and demand and to provide data for workforce planning.
The shortage of pediatricians trained in specialties such as neurology, gastroenterology, and developmental and behavioral medicine threatens timely access to care for children.
Recruiters experience the pains of their clients when seeking out quality physician candidates on their behalf. Statistically, we have found the pool of pediatric surgeons dismal at best, due to the incredibly high demand, with nearly one in four practices seeking additional surgeons. In addition, pediatric gastroenterologists and pediatric neurologists, particularly epileptologists, have proven challenging to source with more opportunities than physicians available in the marketplace. The good news for fellows completing their training is that the demand for their expertise remains high.
DELAY RETIREMENT
Between the recent stock market and real estate collapse many older physicians are remaining in practice longer than Planned In some specialties this has led to fewer high quality positions available to the oncoming new generation of physicians. According to the APSA, some surgeons plan to delay retirement, because it would leave their group or community shorthanded. However, the shortages are such that this appears not to be the case for pediatricians.
INCREASED DEMAND
The demand for pediatric sub-specialists is continuing to increase for the following reasons:
* More Educated consumers requesting sub-specialists for treatment
* Increased obesity rates among children
* Fellowship programs not meeting the current mini boom in population of children
Many general pediatric residents are pursuing pediatric sub-specialty training.
The number of sub-specialty training openings has not adequately increased during this last decade.
GROWING INCOMES
Incomes have grown, As a result of this shortage, outpacing other medical specialties. According to the MGMA Physician Compensation and Production Surveys pediatric sub-pecialists are reaping the rewards of heightened demand with an increase in compensation.
HEALTH CARE REFORM
During the health care debate, pediatric groups lobbied to secure more funding for training and higher reimbursement for pediatric sub-specialties, in the hope of encouraging more doctors-in-training to enter the field. Specialization typically requires up to three years of training beyond a general pediatrics residency and can pay salaries less than half the rate of adult specialty medicine.
the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions survey said that shortages of doctors across a multitude of pediatric sub-specialties are forcing 90% of hospitals to delay appointments, lose patients or refer them elsewhere.
the rise in autism-related disorders, is a shortage of development-behavioral experts; half of hospitals in the survey reported that it takes more than three months to see a developmental pediatrics specialist, one of the longest wait times.
Thanks to advances in medicine such as better care of premature infants, many children are alive who may have died in the past. but we've created a generation of kids who need ongoing and continuing care for serious issues.
HIGH COST OF EDUCATION
The Senate bill contains a measure that would fund a loan-forgiveness program for pediatric sub-specialists, easing the financial burden of medical-school costs.
One problem is that specialists tend to cluster close to large academic medical centers, in areas where there is a population large enough to sustain a practice. American Academy of Pediatrics found that while the greatest shortages are in rural areas, the majority of general pediatricians in all geographic areas considered wait times to be excessive when referring patients to sub-specialists.
To cope with the problem, many hospitals are turning to strategies such as telemedicine—remote consultations using two-way video systems—and mobile vans that may drive hundreds of miles to set up clinics in under-served areas. Hospitals are also more often turning to adult specialists to treat children, though not all are willing to do so. Surgeons, for example, may refuse to operate on children, because they aren't trained to deal with the differences in their physiology.
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