In a report prepared for the Association of American Medical Colleges a grim outlook was given concerning physician supply in the United States. Here is what was found:
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Demand for physicians continues to grow faster than supply, leading to a projected shortfall of
between 46,100 and 90,400 physicians by 2025
The report can be read here. Much of the shortage will be from stronger demand of people getting on Obamacare.
Disrupted Physician 
One study found that 80% of physicians would not want their children to become doctors. Physicians are killing themselves at the rate of at least 400 per year. Physicians are the intentional target of over-reaching regulations that threaten their livelihood and even their lives. To want to be a doctor today would require the soul of a warrior and/or martyr. Isn’t it way past time to have some changes in health care that at least give physicians the opportunity to learn and apply their profession in peace? We NEED them!
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Thank you Professor James, As an expert in Sociology you might be interested in this post which is a brief overview of the history of the group now sitting in an uninvited seat of power.
http://disruptedphysician.com/2014/11/16/disrupted-physician-101-1-the-impaired-physician-movement-and-the-history-of-the-american-society-of-addiction-medicine-asam/
As a special interest group the “Impaired Physicians Movement” has gained power by lobbying via “feel-good” fallacy (parity, helping addicts, fighting the “war on drugs,” etc.). Although (some of) the ostensible goals are laudable they themselves benefit in some way if you dig a little deeper. I know your primary interest is chronic pain and this group is probably the biggest (and unrecognized) enemy to chronic pain patients that exists. They believe that chronic pain is a “spiritual malady” that arises from life “trauma” and that narcotics play no role in treating it. They are the main force behind the rescheduling of hydrocodone (Vicodin) to make it more difficult to prescribe as well as the over-regulation of doctors. They have effectively put the fear into well-meaning doctors so the climate is beset by caution and anxiety in prescribing appropriate medications. They believe narcotics have no role in any pain except that caused by cancer. I am not sure if you have seen the ASAM white paper on drug-testing but this is what they have planned:
http://www.asam.org/docs/default-source/publicy-policy-statements/drug-testing-a-white-paper-by-asam.pdf?sfvrsn=0
Frightening, baseless and incomprehensible? Yes, but as another “feel-good” fallacy the only groups they need to convince of this are regulatory agencies. If you look at the history of public policy and regulatory decisions the ASAM has pushed over the past decade they have invariably come to fruition. So too will this if we don’t do something about it now.
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[…] National Health Service to obesity. The other was a post by Disrupted Physician noting a likely future shortage of doctors in the United States. Assuming these two phenomena are reflective of global trends, if […]
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