Essay On Medical Shortage

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Abstract: A looming social problem is on the horizon in the United States of a critical shortage of primary care doctors to care for the sick within the next ten years. (Bernstein, 2015). This research study aims to reveal the significant impact this shortage will impart on American society if this social problem is not rectified. The results of this research will encourage the reader to ask the questions: what is the cause of the developing shortage of primary care doctors, how will this shortage impact US society, and what implications could this shortage cause? Are there any viable solutions to this emerging social problem? This study aims to answer these questions. A Verizon commercial recently airs featuring top athletic performers, …show more content…

If the attempt to increase the general doctors fails, patients can expect to visit clinics and doctor’s offices without seeing the doctor at all. Nurse practitioners are the recent and notably cheaper alternative to utilizing general doctors; however, these professionals have limited clinical abilities and are only able to treat within boundaries. Ultimately patients, especially ones with chronic illnesses, will eventually need to see a general practitioner. Limited access will delay the patient’s ability to see the doctor which could then cause their illness to progress. For example, “In a report released last month by the Massachusetts Medical Society, a statewide professional association of physicians and medical students, researchers found alarming barriers to doctor access. In an avalanche of disheartening statistics, the most worrisome included the three- to four-week delay to see physicians and a 10% increase in the number of family physicians who have stopped accepting new patients” (Ruiz, 2008). This statement in Forbes substantiates the devastating impact of the physician shortage. Missed doctors visits and delays in access to health care could lead to undetected chronic issues in adults, illness progression in childhood diseases, chances of irreversibly damaging effects to health, and possibly

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