The future two decades in the U.S. will see a major physician shortage due to Obamacare and Congress, wrote Kevin Campbell, an internationally-recognized cardiologist, in an article in the Washington Examiner on Tuesday.
The problem stems from mid-career physicians leaving the field, disillusioned or burned out by the level of electronic recordkeeping necessary under Obamacare. And, fewer young people are entering the field.
It will affect both primary care and subspecialties, and Campbell cited a report by the Association of American Medical Colleges that predicted 100,000 fewer doctors in the country by 2030.
More must be done to entice young people to medicine, and he called upon Congress to act quickly before the "core of medical care — the doctor-patient relationship" was completed eroded. He listed four suggestions for turning the situation around:
- Limit meaningless electronic paperwork: Streamline paperwork so that doctors can spend more time with patients and less with mandated electronic documentation.
- Remove hospital administrators from the care equation: Administrators are there for the purpose of increasing market share for the healthcare system and often outnumber physicians two to one. Physicians should be making healthcare calls for patients, not mid-level managers with no medical training.
- Remove barriers to patient care: Networks and insurers are often determining which doctors a patient can see. That should be left up to the patient and the doctor.
- No longer allow insurance companies to dictate care: Insurers should abide by medical guidelines and not argue with doctors over whether or not certain treatment should be given to patients.
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