First hand experience with doctor shortage

I do not consider myself a hypochondriac and usually see my primary physician in Bloomington every two years for a simple checkup and blood test. However, I was unable to get an appointment with my doctor or even a return call from his nurse so I went to Prompt Care at St. Joseph Hospital in Bloomington that caters to walk ins. The doctor gave me some medication. The rash eventually went away but my leg continued to hurt somewhat. So I again called my primary physician to see what I should do next. Again, the nurse never bothered to return my call.

So I did research on the internet and concluded that what I have is a case of shingles. Shingles can only affect you if you had chickenpox when you were young, which I did. Also, there is not much you can do for it after taking antiviral medication except let it run its course which could be from 2 weeks to 2 years. I also learned that there is a vaccine for shingles and is recommended for anyone over the age of 60. Believe me, you don't want to get shingles. I have to take medication every night to calm the pain so I can get to sleep.

So what did I learn from this experience other than it is hard to get to see a doctor? I learned that nurses can be very arrogant, condescending, and rude when deciding to whom they will return calls. Secondly, I learned that with the impending doctor shortage it may behoove us to use the internet to help us diagnose our symptoms and then decide what action to take. But most importantly, I realized that we must do something to increase the supply of doctors in our country.

The number of medical graduates each year is around 18,000 while there are 24,000 internships available each year. This means that 6000 of those internships are filled by foreign graduates. This statistic does not sit well with foreign countries who provided their education and then lose them to us.

Almost 50% of applicants to medical schools are turned down. We have to ask if this is a reasonable rate of rejection. While everyone assumes that doctors are smart people, would lowering the standards a little result in less skilled doctors? By admitting more students does not mean you have to lower the quality of the curriculum. It may result in a somewhat higher drop out rate but the net effect should be an increase in doctors.

Suggestions for increasing the supply of doctors includes increased recruitment by medical schools and building new medical schools. Supposedly due to the heavy cost only 2 new medical colleges have been established in the past 20 years. Some have suggested that Medicare increase payment amounts to general practitioners and reduce payment amounts to specialists to lessen the income disparity between the two. This should increase the number of general practitioners.

Research indicates that malpractice caps must be set in each state to attract more doctors. One reason Illinois has a shortage of doctors is because there is no cap on malpractice suits thereby discouraging doctors from practicing here because of the high malpractice insurance premiums.

Finally, we as potential patients have an obligation to live a healthy life style to limit the need for doctor visits. This also means avoiding hypochondria visits and ignoring the pharmaceutical ads on television urging you to see your doctor " to see if xx is right for you". Meanwhile, I will consider the internet my family doctor until I can find a doctor's nurse who will return my calls.

Illinois is especially losing an extremely high number of OB/GYN doctors to other states with malpractice caps. This is a very important issue that I also have been researching lately. It is good of you to bring it to the attention of people who may not realize what is going on. Also your doctor's office does not seem to be protecting themselves from medical malpractice suits very well. They are responsible for your care and abondoning a patient can be considered a breach of contract.

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