Doctor Shortage
Doctor Shortage Save Email Print
Reporter: Zac Schultz
Email Address: zschultz@nbc15.com

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Posted Monday, November 10th, 2008 -- 5:30 p.m.

Columbus: It may be a lot harder to get an appointment to see your doctor in the future especially if you live in a rural area.

A new study says there's a shortage of primary care physicians and it's getting worse.

"For a rural facility we're really lucky to have such a nice place." Dr. Anthony Callisto says only a handful of his medical school classmates were looking to be primary care physicians and very few were looking to work in rural areas like at the Columbus Community Hospital. "People are sub-specializing now, they don't want to do primary care such as internal medicine, emergency medicine, ObGyn, so it's very difficult to hire, especially in a big city-let alone a rural setting like this."

It's a problem for small hospitals and clinics all over the state. A new study by the Wisconsin Council on Medical Education and Workforce says the state is facing a shortage of nearly 400 primary care physicians.

"There continues to be a maldistribution of physicians in the state of Wisconsin. There are surplusses in urban areas, and shortages in rural and inner-city Wisconsin," says Dr. Carl Getto, a senior V.P. of Medical Affairs at UW Hospital.

And it will only get worse. "I think it's going to be a real problem in the future, especially for the small community hospitals and the rural hospitals," says Dr. Gary Galvin of Columbus Community Hospital. Galvin has been a general surgeon for nearly 20 years. He says the problem starts in med school, where students realize the prestige and money is not in primary care. "A lot of the physicians are being funnelled off into the sub-specialties so we have a general shortage of people interested in primary care."

Once they graduate, primary care doctors are then overworked. "These primary care providers are further asked to see just a couple more patients or see them just a little bit faster," says Dr. Tim Bartholow, of the Wisconsin Medical Society.

"Burnout is a concern," says Ed Harding, CEO of Columbus Community Hospital. He says they're not short now, but they've spent millions to make the place more attractive to recruits, and yet it still takes a while to fill some positions. "It's taken us over two years to recruit a new ObGyn."

The study says the state needs to do a better job of keeping our doctors here. Only 38% of graduates from Wisconsin's medical schools stay and practice in Wisconsin.

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Posted by: Leo Location: Prairie Du Sac on Nov 16, 2008 at 06:36 PM
Yes Lee, US could fill those rural positions with docs that really care from other countries. so going back to my point of "importing" doctors since it seems that american doctors aren't willing to go to those areas

Posted by: Lee Location: Plantation, FL on Nov 15, 2008 at 08:38 AM
D, not having insurance is no reason to not go to see a doc & have an annual wellness check up' no lawsuit and there are walk-in places for as little of $50, doctors that do care (& are nt greedy like Gary says) would take patients. In Florida there is such a thing, sure that's all around the nation. I lived in WI 7 yrs and Moorland Rd had a place like that. Leo, that's a great option, after passing the board's requirements there are many doc's who serve here in FL that way, and they are in family medicine others are specialists. I do believe that there are doc's that do care, and it's nt for the money they serve. I know of students in medical schools here in FL in 2nd/3rd yr of school that have gone to serve as far as Africa and Kenya/Haiti, to give their knowledge to help others be healthy. It is true it's nt cheap to be a doc, if I only hd financial aid,then I would go north and help fill in those needs ;) you too can go to school and become a doc 'Be a doc who cares' thnks

Posted by: D Location: Madison on Nov 11, 2008 at 04:00 PM
Gary no not all doctors are that way but it seems a good majority are. They can restrict their load and the know it, thats where i feel the greed part comes in. I personally myself dont go to doctors because i am uninsured and dont have the money to get into things. After all i dont need a lawsuit

Posted by: Gary Location: Evansville on Nov 11, 2008 at 02:24 PM
It's not that doctors are too greedy D. Do you realize how much they have to pay in malpractice insurance? Most doctors have had to take out student loans to assist in their tuitions (and 8 years of college is not cheap) most literally have hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay back for student loans. This article is about primary care physicians not specialists and everyone knows primary care physicians do not make near the money specialists do. Take a look at the demographics also, Wisconsin is an overtaxed state and it is cheaper to find employment in our neighboring states. Even the U.W. will tell you a vast majority of it's graduates leave state due to lack of employment and cost of living. Leo: I am pretty sure a doctor from another country still has to pass boards in order to practice in the United States, whereas our docotors can go anywhere in the world and practice medicine.

Posted by: Leo Location: Prairie Du Sac on Nov 11, 2008 at 10:28 AM
how about exporting doctors from other countries to work in these areas?

Posted by: D Location: Madison on Nov 10, 2008 at 07:05 PM
I think personally alot of the problem is some doctors are too greedy for what they expect for pay and yet they dont have any bedside manner. Too Stuck up to the money issue alone and they find out what hmos pay the dont do it. Its so hard to find a doctor nowdays who really does care about this patients vs how much they can make

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