For some time now, we’ve been talking about the physician shortage that our country is currently plagued with, and concierge medicine might be the solution to this problem. If you think your appointment wait times are long now, just wait until a new healthcare reform bill goes into affect. With millions of newly insured Americans and less and less physicians to treat them, things will get pretty ugly out there.

According to the Wall Street Journal, America will find itself at a shortage of 125,000 primary care physicians over the next 15 years. This doesn’t bode well for the fact that we only graduate 27,000 new primary care physicians per year. The Wall Street Journal goes on to say that we already are short 16,000 physicians in 2010, and with the healthcare reform bill just around the corner, that could mean huge problems for the newly insured.

There are quite a few issues to this primary care physician crisis; one being the doctor’s yearly income, as speciailist make far more than primary care physicians, another being their schooling. The government actually runs a cap on the amount of residency positions available across the country, and that cap is limiting the amount of new physicians that can finish their schooling.

Well, this all may be about to change. While there still is a cap on residency positions available, more medical schools than ever before are opening or about to open. Not since the 1970’s has so many institutions promised to offer new medical schools, 23 to be exact.

Some schools, such as the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine, will aim to train doctors who will treat patients in more disadvantaged urban and rural areas, rather than in more well-to-do areas, reports the New York Times.  – FierceHealthCare.com

According to this HealthCare article, institutions around the nation are hoping to graduate 30% more medical students every year, which would greatly help that 125,000 physician deficit we will be facing in the next 15 years. With the new schools come new opportunities for students who in the past have chosen to study abroad. Now, they can  stay at home, learn the practice at home, and spend time with mentors at home.

Supporters of the expansion say that having more doctors will improve care, by getting doctors to urban and rural areas where they are needed, by shifting care to primary and family practice physicians rather than expensive specialists, and by reducing long waits for people to see a doctor and get the care they need. – NewYorkTimes.com

If you are tired of the long wati times and want a market based solution that give you the vip treatment, consider concierge medicine and http://www.SignatureMD.com.