Medical-Colleges Association Says Doctor Shortage Will Worsen

Over the next five years, the shortage of doctors across all specialties will quadruple as 32 million Americans gain access to health insurance and millions more become eligible for Medicare, according to a report released today by the Association of American Medical Colleges. With residency-training positions frozen at 1996 levels, the doctor supply can’t grow, even as more students are accepted into medical schools, the association warned. Skeptics say that the shortage concerns are exaggerated, and that what’s needed is a more efficient health-care-delivery system that relies more on nonphysician providers like advanced-practice nurses.