Shortage of Physicians in the U.S. Only Getting Worse

This article from the Wall Street Journal talks about the increasing shortage of physicians in the U.S. and how it looks as though it will only get worse. To make matters worse, many people believe that the new healthcare reform act will cause more people to consume healthcare resources, thereby increasing the need for healthcare professionals even more.

"It will probably take 10 years to even make a dent into the number of doctors that we need out there," said Atul Grover, the AAMC's chief advocacy officer.

Obviously an increased need for healthcare professionals will benefit the healthcare staffing industry. However, many measures need to be taken to ensure the shortage doesn't grow to severe. Even though healthcare reform will positively affect the healthcare staffing industry, too severe of a shortage will hurt us all as a country. Unfortunately, the healthcare reform bill did not go far enough in addressing the growing need for healthcare professionals.

Proponents of the new health-care law say it does attempt to address the physician shortage. The law offers sweeteners to encourage more people to enter medical professions, and a 10% Medicare pay boost for primary-care doctors.

This map is a great visualization of the shortage of physicians across the country.

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