Copyright 1999 The Washington Post
The Washington
Post
October 6, 1999, Wednesday, Final Edition
SECTION: OP-ED; Pg. A32; LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
LENGTH: 279 words
HEADLINE:
Generalizing About the Doctor 'Glut'
BODY:
Daniel Greenberg's argument that we're heading for a "glut" in the
medical profession [op-ed, Sept. 20] is a matter of debate. One undisputed point
that his generalization glosses over is that certain medical specialties are
facing shortages. In pediatrics, for example, we're already experiencing
shortages of pediatric specialists in pulmonology, rheumatology, pharmacology,
adolescent medicine and certain other disciplines, largely as a result of poor
reimbursement for the case of the chronically ill child. Mr. Greenberg's
sweeping perspective misses those shortages. But if your own child were severely
ill, you certainly would want a physician specially trained in caring for
children.
Another implication of this growing shortage may be less
obvious: If fewer pediatricians train in subspecialties, the number of qualified
researchers goes down as well. In children's teaching hospitals, they are,
often, the same doctors. That means fewer researchers pursuing cures for cystic
fibrosis, chronic asthma, cancer and more.
A great many of the nation's
pediatric specialists are trained at the 59 independent children's hospitals
across the nation. But these hospitals themselves are facing a severe economic
crunch supporting their training programs because fewer and fewer payers cover
the added costs of training. In addition, children's teaching hospitals receive
little support for training from the one remaining, significant source of
graduate medical education funding -- Medicare -- because they
care for children, not the elderly.
JAMES A. STOCKMAN III
Chapel
Hill
The writer is president of the American Board of
Pediatrics.
LOAD-DATE: October 06, 1999
