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Doctors and Nurses

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Opinion: Cuts to Physician Training Would Affect Care

Democrats and Republicans in Congress are considering reducing Medicare reimbursements for physician training, which "could dramatically limit the ability of patients to see physicians, even for critical illnesses," Herbert Pardes, president and CEO of New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and Edward Miller, dean and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine, write in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece. Pardes and Miller write that "Congress must increase the number of doctors hospitals can train and not reduce the funding available for the training. The short-term budgetary savings of graduate medical education cuts are not worth the long-term negative impact on patients."

Reader Comments:
  • 1
  • 07/13/2011
  • Tom Petersen

The problem of adequate access to physicians in Calfornia is not new. The inadequate number of physicians and their geographic maldistribution have been well documented for years along with the impact on mortality and morbidity (google Central Valley health outcomes).
So the plan seems to be insure more patients( ala Medi-Cal) and declare success-alas insurance does not equate to access-especially if Medi-Cal is your insurance.
Imagine having a Starbucks card, but no Starbucks in your town, and no public transportation to a town with Starbucks, and you do not have car, or money for a cab and sorry, the card is only valid at Starbucks. the value of that Starbucks card to you? ZERO!
A public health crises is at hand and while training more physicians, PA's and NP's is a good idea-that solution takes time-we need a solution today.
Expecting the current cadre of physicians to solve this problem is unreasonable. So who will do this work?



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