Work force studies find scattered physician shortages

New studies help shape the picture of which physicians are needed where.

By Myrle Croasdale, AMNews staff. Aug. 14, 2006.

In Massachusetts, there is a shortage of family physicians, internal medicine specialists and psychiatrists for the first time. Nationwide, there is a shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists, with rural areas reporting the greatest shortfalls.

Primary care physicians are in short supply in Massachusetts, and several specialties there are having an increasingly difficult time retaining doctors, according to a new Massachusetts Medical Society work force study.

MMS has monitored the state's physician work force for five years, with the 2006 evaluation noting severe to critical shortages, for the first time, in family medicine, psychiatry and internal medicine.

"The shortage of primary care physicians is especially disturbing," MMS President Kenneth R. Peelle, MD, said in a statement. "The results of these studies should carry a strong message to health care officials and policy-makers alike: It is imperative that we improve the practice environment for our physicians."

Anesthesiology and neurosurgery remain stressed, according to the "2006 Physician Workforce Study," with severe to critical shortages noted for the fifth consecutive year. Gastroenterology, orthopedics, general surgery and radiology had severe to critical shortages for the fourth time. Meanwhile, cardiology moved out of the severe to critical category for the first time since the study began.

"It's ironic and troubling that in a state known for its leadership in health care, the physician work force is so much under stress," Dr. Peelle said. "We need to improve the viability of our physician practices, improve our recruitment and retention, and reduce the shortages in key specialties."