What’s So Bad About MD Glut?
The article by Daniel Greenberg (Editorial Pages, June 24) asked, “What’s So Bad About a Doctor Glut?”
Many of us believe that having a surfeit of something, especially doctors, might not be so bad. Plenty of physicians are around when you need one, if you plan ahead. But what happens when they aren’t where they are most needed?
Regrettably, our doctor “glut” is not all that it seems, at least not in California. We have too many physicians of the wrong specialty, practicing in the wrong places, and not enough of the right specialty in the right places.
Translated: The number of physicians practicing in all the West Los Angeles area is eight times that of physicians practicing in the Watts/Willowbrook area of Los Angeles. Similar deficiencies exist in many rural communities where the need for family physicians is chronic.
The problem is made more severe by the fact that the populations of those inner-city areas, particularly those with large numbers of minorities, critically need primary-care physicians, especially in family practice, the specialty in shortest supply.
There will continue to be physicians graduating from medical schools. What we are doing is creating incentives to increase the percentage of those going into comprehensive primary care and family physician specialties. In addition, we are supporting the expansion of post-doctoral residency training in family practice in those institutions with the best record of training physicians who go into geographic areas of unmet medical need.
We do not disagree with American Medical Assn. President Dr. James H. Sammons about the need for doctors to maintain high levels of skill. The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development supports continuing education in medical procedures and specialties.
Basically, we would agree that there is an abundance of doctors in California. It is up to state and local governments and the private sector to encourage improved geographic distribution so that it benefits all residents. The changing environment in the health-care delivery system is providing us with that opportunity. Assuring an adequate delivery system is providing us with that opportunity. Assuring adequate affordable health care for all Californians is our goal.
LARRY G. MEEKS
Sacramento
Meeks is director of the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development.
