Physician Dissatisfaction Expected To Create Shortage Of Doctors For Americans

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Half of the primary care physicians who responded to a recent survey would quit if they could, that could pose a problem for President-elect Barack Obama who has promised to extend health care to more Americans.

But doing that depends on having enough doctors, among other things. And the report released by the Physicians' Foundation on Tuesday indicates that could become a big problem. The Physicians' Foundation survey found widespread dissatisfaction and frustration among the nation's family doctors and internists.

Physicians' Foundation promotes better relations between doctors and patients and conducted the survey of 270,000 physicians nationwide in an effort to find out why doctors are leaving the primary care.

Nationwide there is a shortage of primary care physicians and that shortage is expected to grow worse and the survey indicates that shortage will grow worse.

Some 49 percent of practicing doctors, or more than 150,000 physicians, said they plan to either stop practicing entirely or reduce the number of patients that they see over the next three years.

That shortage is expected to make it more difficult for Americans to get care - even those with health insurance.

An increase in the amount of paperwork that limits the time they spend with patients was a factor and 60 percent said they were working at full capacity or were overextended or overworked.

Of the 12,000 doctors who responded to the survey, they said that over the next three years:

• 11 percent said they plan to retire;
• 13 percent said they plan to seek a job that removes them from active patient care;
• 22 percent said they will cut back on patients seen; and
• 10 percent plan to move to part-time work.

In a statement, Walker Ray, MD, Vice President of The Physicians' Foundation put the results of the survey into context.

"At a time when the new Administration and new Congress are talking about ways to expand access to healthcare, the harsh reality is that there might not be enough doctors to handle the increased number of people who might want to see them if they get health insurance," Ray said. Physicians' Foundation. "It's as if we're talking about expanding access to higher education without having enough professors to handle the influx of students. It's basic supply and demand."