The medical crisis in America in all its manifestations is all due to
one underlying problem: There are not enough doctors. And no solution
is going to be adequate until this problem is fixed.
The low number of doctors limits supply of medical care. This causes
three problems at once. First, according to simple mathematics and
economics, low supply amid growing demand means exhorbitantly high
prices. Secondly, low number of doctors means that thedoctors are
overworked, and overworked people make mistakes that they would not
makeunder normal conditions. This results in disastrous errors that
kill or cripple the patient. Thirdly, because of these mistakes, there
is huge amount of malpractice lawsuits; which mean high insurance
prices for doctors, which either have to be absorbed by doctors
themselves, or passed down to the patient.
All these problems – high prices, medical errors, and huge malpractice
insurance costs – have been the bane of American medicine in recent
decades.
And only by addressing the problem at the root, can any meaningful or
lasting solution be affectuated.
How can this then be solved? How can America increase its number of
medical professionals? There are two possible directions to take, and
I believe both are rightful. One, is to tap into supply of medical
professionals abroad or from abroad. The other, is to increase the
number of domestic doctors.
The first is already taking place, as people are going to Canada,
India or Russia for operations. And they are right to do so. In
countries where there are adequate doctors who do not earn enough
money at home, Americans going for operations or treatment gives these
doctors a better way to make a living and rewards their skill, their
education and their work, while also giving the patient adequate
treatment for less cost and less wait. But unless America is to see
its domestic medical system whittle away, there needs to be a greater
number of doctors at home, which means either: a greater number of
licensed foreign doctors; a greater number of American doctors; or
both.
The first of this means an intelligent licensing system for foreign
doctors that assures their quality without being needlessly lengthy or
bureaucratic. The second means this: Increase the number of medical
schools. The more medical schools, the greater the number of medical
school admissions and graduations, the more domestic doctors.
Furthermore, with greater number of medical schools, there will be
adequate competition among them, leading to reduced tuition costs.
This will open the door for many promising students, many of whom
either cannot afford medical school financially or cannot get in
because of needlessly small number of admissions to medical school.
And while socialist solutions can alleviate the strain for the
patients, it is only by addressing the structural problem that the
situation can be resolved in a meaningful and lasting way. The
solution, is to increase the number of doctors. The extent to which it
is done by Americans going to foreign doctors, by America bringing in
foreign doctors, or by increasing the number of medical school
admissions and graduations, will determine the extent to which other
countries get the business, the extent to which foreigners living in
America get the business, or the extent to which Americans get the
business of American people in need of medical care.
Ilya Shambat
http://www.myspace.com/ibshambat
http://ibshambat7.blogspot.com