primary care shortage

the passing of the health care reform bill will put a greater emphasis on the need for primary care physicians. the trends dont look positive in supporting those needs.

** the US health care system has about 100,000 family physicians and will need 139,531 in 10 years.

** the number of US medical school students going into primary care has dropped 51.8% since 1997.

** it is predicted that there will be a shortage of 40,000 family physicians in 2020, when the demand is expected to spike due to the aging baby boomers.

** it takes 10-11 years to train a physician which means many more medical students need to begin opting for primary care now in order to meet these rising needs.