Doctors of Pediatrics May Not Have A Dependable Outlook In the Future
In other locations in the country, Pediatrics in Texas is undergoing many of the same challenges as other specialties. Of the about 63,000 physicians in the Lone Star state, 4639 specialize in Pediatric medicine. For many of the 800 Texas urologists the future is uncertain. Of those 4639 Pediatricians, 4466 are M.D.’s and one hundred and seventy three are D.O.’s. While there may be some differences in training, both M.D.’s and D.O.’s are equally recognized and have the ability to become a Pediatrician / doctor. A Pediatrician physician generally has at least 10 years of training including a undergraduate degree in a healthcare or science related area, a medical doctorate (graduate, Alleopathic or Osteopathic), and an accredited Pediatrics residency (post-graduate).HEALTH CARE REFORMThe continual epic of health reform having an impact on all medical disciplines. Until it becomes obvious accurately what is being changed and how that will affect each partaker the market will be hamstrung. Uncertainty affects spending on expansion and hiring at all levels of health care.Some aspects of the bill are trying to address shortages in primary care. The Senate bill includes a measure that would fund a loan-forgiveness program for pediatric sub-specializations, easing the financial struggles of medical-school costs. The federal Medicare program funds training programs for adult medicine. Congress five years ago authorized funding for pediatric specialty training, but the funds must be re-authorized every year.Pediatric clinics carry on pressing for to more funding for resident training. The cost of education is going higher (see California!) and yet the income for pediatrics is not on a par with many other specialties. There may be a need to get repayment for training or upper reimbursement for pediatric residents, in the hope of encouraging more doctors-in-training to enter the field. Sub-specialization typically requires up to three years of training beyond a general pediatrics residency and historically can pay salaries less than half the rate of adult specialty medicine.INCREASED DEMANDThe demand for pediatric sub-specialists is continuing to increase for the following reasons:* More Educated individuals requesting sub-specialists for treatment* Increased obesity rates among kids* Fellowship programs not meeting the current mini boom in population of childrenMany general pediatric residents are pursuing pediatric sub-specialty training. The number of subspecialty training openings has not appropriately increased during this last decade.RISING DEMAND RISING INCOMEFor some time now there have been forecasts of shortages of physicians of many specialties in the US. For pediatrics the problem seems to be with the subspecialties like neurology, gastroenterology, and developmental and behavioral medicine and pediatric surgeons. As a result of this shortage, incomes have outpaced other medical specialties. The lack is abundant enough that the salaries for some of these sub specialties is approaching that of adult specialties for the first time. According to the MGMA Physician Compensation Surveys pediatric sub-specialists salaries have improved greatly and for one of the first times, pediatric surgeons in reality earn more than their adult surgeon counterparts.SHORTAGESThis increased demand is on top of the fact that clinics report that jobs for the top Pediatric specialties are going unoccupied; reporting vacancies in pediatric-rehabilitation medicine, hematology and oncology, and cardiology. For families, that often means waiting for months to see a specialist and incurring heavy travel costs to find appropriate care.DEMOGRAPHICSAn unsterstated concern is the demographics of the United States. The main volume of the residents in the United States is the baby boom generation which is now entering retirement age. The “boomers” cause several problems, one this means the bulk of physicians are retiring just when they will be needed most, two as we age we demand more health care services. Greater demand for services will cause an even greater financial pressure on the government through bigger dependence on Medicare. Finally a good news / bad news is they may live for a longer time then any age group before but this will further hinder the budget with demands on Social Security and Medicare. Even though the baby boom problem does not directly impact pediatrics, it does indirectly in that their increased need will mean higher salaries for those specialties that care for them and less for pediatrics. To further confuse the issue there is a mini baby boom going on now that will directly increase demand for all pediatric specializations.Solutions:To cope with the crisis, many hospitals are turning to telemedicine, remote consultations using two-way video systems-and mobile vans that may drive hundreds of miles to set up clinics in under-served areas. Hospitals are also more often shifting to adult specialists to treat children, even if not all are willing to do so since their teaching is for adult physiology rather than childrens.
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