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The need for more doctors

Published/Last Modified on Sunday, Sep 14, 2008 - 05:22:18 am MST

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As the election campaigns continue, one of the issues at the forefront of discussion is health care.

With a growing aging population in the United States, as well as just a growing population in general, the need for a quality health care system that meets the needs of the public is critical.

At the core of that is medical professionals. But according to a survey released last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the number of medical students who plan to provide primary care internal medicine is at only 2 percent of the 1,200 who were asked.

When asked the reason for their choices, they cite dealing with insurance companies, paperwork, demands of the chronically sick and bringing work home. The difference in pay between family medicine and other specialties may be a factor, too.

Without primary care doctors, the U.S. health care system will be in dire trouble.

Locally, we’ve seen hospitals trying to address the problem of not only attracting doctors, but also attracting doctors to rural areas.

At the Sierra Vista Regional Health Center, they’ve partnered with Midwestern University to provide a place for medical students to have residencies. This, in turn, helps to serve as a boost to the medical staff at the hospital.

At Bisbee’s Copper Queen Community Hospital, telemedicine has been at the forefront of its solutions. By using that technology, the hospital can provide care using doctors in Tucson or Phoenix giving treatment directions. This doesn’t mean the hospital can go without doctors, but it allows the hospital to offer more types of medical care.

But these creative approaches don’t solve the problems for the long term. And the hospitals realize this. The Sierra Vista hospital foundation has been working to lobby officials to make changes to the medical system so that doctors can be attracted to work in rural areas.

The argument for reform also must be taken to create a place where doctors want to not only be specialists, but also want to go into family medicine and primary care.

Prior to voting on Nov. 4, the public needs to pay attention to what the presidential candidates, as well as those who hope to go to Congress and the state Legislature, suggest as solutions to our health care system’s ills. We need people in Washington and Phoenix who can provide innovative solutions.

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brian wrote on Sep 24, 2008 2:24 PM:

" TO "to Leondis": Tucson's VA hospital is an anomoly in the VA system, albeit in a good way, the typical VA facility is not a beacon of healthcare. And we can NOT afford to fund Fannie, Freddie, AIG, etc., but the federal govt will force us to do so. Name one thing the federal government controls that runs as a model of efficiency without budget overuns/deficits. AMTRACK? HUD? Government control hinders productivity. "

To Leondis wrote on Sep 17, 2008 9:35 AM:

" You are obviously mistaken. I have excellent health care from the VA and that is "social" medicine that operates FAR more efficiently than the so-called Republican insurance company model. Why don't you ask ANY doctor here in town what they think of insurance companies? They HATE them. Period! This is one reason LESS people are becoming doctors. We need to have government regulation of health care for all citizens. If we can afford to fund Fanny Mae, AIG, Lehman, etc, we can afford to treat our citizens with proper health care. "

Dummy wrote on Sep 16, 2008 8:46 PM:

" Just how much money does the SVRHC, get from the choppers companies, to use that landing pad? "

Mark C. wrote on Sep 14, 2008 10:30 PM:

" Our entire Health Care system needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. S.V. Regional is the perfect example... Horrer story after horrer story of people who would have died had they not taken the initiative to travel to Tucson and get a second opinion. "

Really Ray wrote on Sep 14, 2008 7:51 PM:

" A lot of the foreign doctors are schooled in the US, many people travel overseas to get major operations, thereby saving thousand of dollars. In our area all you have to do is cross the border, to save bucko bucks on dental, doctor, and prescription drugs. "

Ray wrote on Sep 14, 2008 3:20 PM:

" Jack, We once had the greatest health care in the world and arguably, I believe we still do. However, this status is slowly deteriorating. Overhaul is indeed needed, but not by mirroring Asia and Europe...which would also contribute to 3rd world health care status... "

Ray wrote on Sep 14, 2008 11:15 AM:

" This is just a precursor to bringing in foreign doctors....thus continuing our spiral downward towards 3rd world status.... "

jack wrote on Sep 14, 2008 10:39 AM:

" Our healthcare system needs to be overhauled using the best features of successful systems in Asia and Europe. "

Leonidas wrote on Sep 14, 2008 8:21 AM:

" Want to improve the system? Get the government out. Strip the AMA of its monopoly charter, increase health savings accounts coverage and destroy all government edicts on health care since 1965. Make doctors and hospitals compete for patient dollars. There is a reason that medical inflation has not hit elective surgeries - people shop when they spend their own money. Socialism does not work. "