Primary care practice disillusions many doctors

By ACSH Staff — Nov 19, 2008
A survey finds, disturbingly, that a majority of primary care physicians feel overworked and that many are planning on either cutting back on the number of patients they see or quitting medicine entirely. "This issue says a lot about our healthcare system," notes ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan.

A survey finds, disturbingly, that a majority of primary care physicians feel overworked and that many are planning on either cutting back on the number of patients they see or quitting medicine entirely. "This issue says a lot about our healthcare system," notes ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan.

ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross says, "Primary care has been denigrated. Often doctors only get seven minutes per patient and can't do any long-term care. The most they can do is quickly prescribe a drug or refer the patient to a specialist."

He points out that specialists, on the other hand, are thriving. "For example, there are waiting lists for years to get into dermatology residency programs," he says.