Fewer Physicians Means Less Access for Elderly Patients, Says State of Medicine Report
The Pennsylvania Medical Society is reporting that the commonwealth’s physician workforce is declining at a time when our aging population will increase demand for medical care.
The Pennsylvania Medical Society’s “The State of Medicine in Pennsylvania,” 2007 edition, shows there are less than 25,000 total direct patient care physicians in the commonwealth.
"This is a loss of 1,632 direct patient care physicians since 2004," said Ralph Schmeltz, MD, a member of the State Society’s Board of Trustees who chaired the State of Medicine Task Force.
Even though thousands of physicians graduate from Pennsylvania medical schools and training programs each year, the commonwealth now has a low ratio of physicians and other health care professionals to elderly patients.
Pennsylvania, which has the sixth largest population, has the fifth highest number of physicians. However, when ranked on the number of physicians per 10,000 elderly patients, Pennsylvania ranks only 37th due to our high number of elderly. Pennsylvania has been below the national average since the early 1990s, but now that gap is beginning to increase.
Since 1997, Pennsylvania has seen declines in the numbers of physicians in many specialties—including family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, radiology, cardiology, pathology, orthopedic surgery, general surgery and neurosurgery.
Unlike the rest of the nation, Pennsylvania’s physician numbers have not been growing and, in fact, appear to be declining.
Physicians are not the only health care profession experiencing shortages. Per 10,000 elderly patients, Pennsylvania is 44th in pharmacists, 30th in nurse practitioners, and 24th in physician assistants.
Nationally, there are 24.6 nurse practitioners per 100,000 people. In Pennsylvania, there are 20.19 nurse practitioners per 100,000 people.
Dr. Schmeltz points out that there are positive developments in the effort to provide Pennsylvanians with an adequate health care work force.
"There's been an uptick in percent of resident physicians staying in Pennsylvania and we're working with legislators to reduce the loan burden for doctors entering practice," he said.
Last Updated: 7/14/2008