http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/02/health/obamacare-doctor-shortage/index.html?hpt=he_bn6
Regardless on your feelings on Obamacare the facts cannot be ignored. For years our healthcare system has been lacking and falling behind many other developed nations. Now Obamacare is putting an increased demand on the system that is already stretched thin. When Obamacare first went so many of the 48 million uninsured in this country were ready to cash in on their new medical benefits that twelve of the enrollment sites experienced technically problems and even crashed. If the technical portion of the system was having trouble on the first day of operation how can we possibly expect the actual medical care portion to hold up for long?
Currently estimates show that our system is short 20,000 doctors and this number is only expected to get worse. A study in the Annals of Family Medicine journal estimates that by 2025 we will be short a necessary 52,000 doctors. This article does note that the Affordable Care Act did not create this problem but it is exacerbating it. With an aging and growing population our system is struggling. The influx of many new patients could be more than it can handle. I liked the comparison of Obamacare is giving everyone ATM cards with no ATMs. I think Obamacare should have addressed current problems of our system before adding even more patients to the problem. If its giving them access to the system that may not even be able to help them what good will it do? Though it does seem to touch on some issues it just seems like it is not enough.
I do like that ideas that the article gives to help with the primary care issues. Since primary care is the backbone of our healthcare system I think it is important to focus on it. Because some graduates are turned away from primary care because of the low salary giving scholarships and other financial incentives could help with the need for more primary care doctors. An advantage to focusing on primary care is catching major issues in patients while they are still small. This will save the healthcare system money in the long run.
I see positives and negative about going into the medical field from this article. There will obviously be places that you will be able to find a job as the need seems to be so great. The negatives that I see are how many issues there seem to be. I think the job could become very stressful not because of serving patients but trying to manage the bureaucracy of the system. Its a tough decision that many undergraduates seem to be facing. I for one am not as convicted to go into the medical field though it is still of great interest to me.
1 comment:
The Affordable Care Act, like most other government proposals, is a good idea, but only in theory. It is interesting that you highlight the current issues with the current health care system, and you are completely right: How can we attempt to fix a health care problem when the health care system is in such a fragile state? As many politicians and analysts predicted, Obamacare has only made this situation worse, and now along with needing a fix for the system, Obama now has to work on fixing his law as well.
The profession of doctor is typically one that is always in need and has excellent job security. But the Affordable Health Care Act has definitely angered many doctors for monetary reasons. It is also very important to identify what kind of role insurance companies will now play in the medical field.
I, like you, am somewhat deterred from entering the medical field because of the potential consequences the Affordable Care Act may pose ten years in the future. However, it seems like we have no choice but to continue our education and wait while the changes unfold before us.
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