How many docs is too many docs?
Kevin at Kevin MD posted a quick piece on the contention by researchers at Dartmouth College that there are too many providers, and he struck a nerve or three. And one appears to be the sciatic, for the amount of pain it has created amongst Kevin's readers.
The study, which was published in my-favorite-journal Health Affairs, contends that there are presently enough physicians in the US to provide all of us with adequate care. Moreover, the lead researcher opines that spending additional money to increase the number of physicians will divert funds from more critical needs.
If you agree w the study's results, it looks like we will soon have too many docs. And the more docs we have, the more procedures are performed, and the more bills generated. I'm also dubious about a return on that investment, as the health status of the average American will likely remain unchanged..
Comments
Wow! That blog was fun to read!Unfortunately, I'm jamming today and didn't have time to read the whole blog (it goes on, and on, and on!).
Posted by: Ann | July 12, 2006 10:41 AM
Unfortunately didn't read their piece in health affairs (must have missed that issue) but based on the other work i have seen come from that team, my sense was that they concluded that there were too many specialists, and that the driving factor behind costs (but not outcomes) was the ratio of specialists to pcps in a region.
Posted by: rationalactor | July 12, 2006 3:31 PM