PRIMARY CARE MD SHORTAGE LOOMING

The Pittsburgh Tribune reports:

The shortage of primary care physicians is attributed to many reasons. Among them are low compensation compared with specialists, a lack of interest by medical school graduates, liability problems and a growing number of primary care doctors opting for early retirement. How primary care is viewed, discussed and taught in many medical schools, is cited.

"Primary care is one of the lowest paid physician professions today," said Ralph Schmeltz, for more than 40 years a practicing internal medicine doctor prior to retiring last July, and president-elect of the Pennsylvania Medical Society.

Health care reform's mandate that all Americans have health insurance soon will run into the reality of a lack of new primary care doctors such as Andrew Fisher at all levels.