The doctor won't see you now

[Gob]

The doctor is disappearing in America.



And by most projections, it’s only going to get worse — the U.S. could lose as many as 1 million doctors by 2025, according to a Association of American Medical Colleges report.

Primary-care physicians will account for as much as one-third of that shortage, meaning the doctor you likely interact with most often is also becoming much more difficult to see.


Tasked with checkups and referring more complicated health problems to specialists, these doctors have the most consistent contact with a patient. But 65 million people live in what’s “essentially a primary-care desert,” said Phil Miller of the physician search firm Merritt Hawkins.

Without those doctors, our medical system is “putting out forest fires — just treating the patients when they get really sick,” said Dr. Richard Olds, the chief executive officer of the Caribbean medical school St. George’s University, who is attempting to use his institution’s resources to help alleviate the shortage.

Dr. Ramanathan Raju, CEO of public hospital system NYC Health + Hospitals, goes even further, saying the U.S. lacks a basic primary-care system. “I think we really killed primary care in this country,” said Raju. “It needs to be addressed yesterday.”

The primary-care gap is particularly acute in about one-third of states, which have only half or less of their primary-care needs being met. Connecticut is a standout among the group, at about 15%, with Missouri, at 30%; Rhode Island, at 33%; Alaska, with 35%; and North Dakota, at 37%, next on the list, according to government statistics.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/americ ... 2016-04-01

[Daisy]

That's alright if Jeremy Hunt gets his way the USA will find an influx of brilliant British doctors flooding into their hospitals in the next few years.

[oldr_n_wsr]

the USA will find an influx of brilliant British doctors flooding into their hospitals

At least it's not British dentists.

[RayThom]

[Long Run]

File this under "I'm a doctor, Jim, not a mathematician"?

And by most projections, it’s only going to get worse — the U.S. could lose as many as 1 million doctors by 2025, according to a Association of American Medical Colleges report.

Total number of doctors of medicine in the U.S. 1,026,788
Total number of active doctors of medicine in the U.S. 826,001
Active doctors of medicine in patient care in the U.S. 784,633

http://www.statista.com/topics/1244/physicians/

[rubato]

That's alright if Jeremy Hunt gets his way the USA will find an influx of brilliant British doctors flooding into their hospitals in the next few years.

Foreign medical graduates have to be licensed as an MD in the state where they will practice for which they have to pass the United States Medical Licensing Examination and typically have to have a residency in a specialty. Most find it is necessary to take a residency here (typically 4 years) followed by written and oral exams for admission to the respective specialty. It can often take 10 years to pass all the hurdles.


I'm not expecting a flood.


yrs,
rubato

[rubato]

The doctor shortage isn't new, and it isn't news. There was already a shortage and further strain was predicted by the ACA.


UC opened a new medical school at UCR a few years ago and I hear they are moving to open another in Merced.


yrs,
rubato

[Gob]

Ah, that old cliche...

Americans do not have better teeth than the English, new research suggests. Experts set out to challenge the idea – dating back more than a century – that the English have poor dental hygiene.

A team from the UK and the US examined data on thousands of people from the English Adult Dental Health Survey and the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. They looked for examples of missing teeth, adults’ perceptions of their oral health, and the effect of poor teeth on daily life such as pain, difficulty eating, avoiding smiling and social effects. Levels of education and household income were also examined.

The study showed that the average number of missing teeth was significantly higher in the US (7.31) than in England (6.97), and that people were more likely to suffer poor dental health because of socioeconomic factors if they lived in the US.

“In conclusion, we have shown that the oral health of Americans is not better than the English, and there are consistently wider educational and income related oral health inequalities in the US compared with England,” said the researchers, who included academics from University College London.
.

[dales]

Now that's something we can all sink our teeth into.

[MG McAnick]

The study showed that the average number of missing teeth was significantly higher in the US (7.31) than in England (6.97),

Significant? That .34 of a tooth is only significant if it's the only 1/3 of a tooth one has left.

Every Brit I know has good teeth. I can't say that for all the 'Muricans, but then I know a LOT more 'Muricans

[rubato]

I have posted previously that UK dental care is better than the US overall. But if you look more closely, the worst dental care is all in Republican states :




Percent of 65 year olds who have had all teeth extracted.
state ***********************
1. West Virginia *********************** 33.60%
2. Kentucky *********************** 23.90%
3. Mississippi *********************** 22.50%
3. Oklahoma *********************** 22.50%
5. Tennessee *********************** 22.40%
6. Alabama *********************** 22.20%
7. Arkansas *********************** 22.00%
8. Louisiana *********************** 20.50%
9. Missouri *********************** 19.90%
10. North Carolina *********************** 19.60%
11. Georgia *********************** 19.30%
12. Ohio *********************** 18.10%
12. South Carolina *********************** 18.10%
14. Indiana *********************** 18.00%
15. Maine *********************** 17.50%
16. Wyoming *********************** 17.20%
17. Nevada *********************** 17.00%
18. Vermont *********************** 16.90%
19. Montana *********************** 16.70%
19. Puerto Rico *********************** 16.70%
21. Illinois *********************** 16.50%
22. Kansas *********************** 16.40%
23. South Dakota *********************** 16.10%
24. Delaware *********************** 16.00%
25. New Mexico *********************** 15.70%
25. Pennsylvania *********************** 15.70%
27. Virginia *********************** 15.10%
28. Iowa *********************** 15.00%
29. Idaho *********************** 14.90%
29. New York *********************** 14.90%
United States *********************** 14.9%1
31. Massachusetts *********************** 14.40%
32. North Dakota *********************** 14.30%
33. Nebraska *********************** 14.10%
34. Rhode Island *********************** 13.80%
35. Wisconsin *********************** 13.50%
36. Alaska *********************** 13.40%
37. Florida *********************** 13.20%
38. New Jersey *********************** 13.10%
39. Oregon *********************** 13.00%
40. Maryland *********************** 12.90%
40. Michigan *********************** 12.90%
42. Arizona *********************** 12.30%
42. Texas *********************** 12.30%
44. New Hampshire *********************** 12.10%
45. Utah *********************** 11.20%
46. Washington *********************** 11.10%
47. District of Columbia *********************** 11.00%
48. Connecticut *********************** 10.50%
48. Minnesota *********************** 10.50%
50. Colorado *********************** 10.40%
51. California *********************** 8.70%
52. Hawaii *********************** 6.50%
53. Guam *********************** NSD


yrs,
rubato

[dales]

52. Hawaii *********************** 6.50%

[Long Run]

Sugar cane has a different impact than processed sugar on teeth and health in general.

[Bicycle Bill]

Sugar cane has a different impact than processed sugar on teeth and health in general.

Isn't all sugar processed, whether it comes from sugar cane or sugar beets?
Maybe we should all switch over to sweet sorghum syrup.

-"BB"-

[MajGenl.Meade]

Then you end up with sore gums!

[BoSoxGal]

If you eat sugar cane like the kids in that commercial, it's not nearly as unhealthy because it's attached to a shitload of fiber - it's not processed, it's like eating sugar in an apple or other fruit.

Processed/refined sugar is pure poison that turns to fat in the body and it's the devil behind the obesity epidemic.

[Big RR]

Are those kids eating the entire cane, or merely extracting the sugar from the fibrous cane by sucking on it (and is that just an alternative way to process sugar)? I would imagine they're getting very little fiber in eating sugar that way.

[Burning Petard]

Rubato' chart up above reminds me of a very old non-PC joke:

The tooth brush was invented in West Virginia. How do I know? Because if it had been invented anyplace else, it would have been called a 'teethbrush'

snailgate

[rubato]

Sugar cane used to appear seasonally in W. Coast supermarkets in the 1960s. We would consume it by peeling off the outer layer and then chewing the cane part to extract the sugar. I don't think anyone actually ate the fibers but the method of consumption was somewhat self-limiting; you can only chew up so much before you get tired, bored, &c.


Nothing wrong with sugar per se, it just became too cheap and so it was added to everything in huge quantities.



yrs,
rubato