The issues outlined below point to a failure of the medical education and training system to anticipate population trends and disease incidence. That failure has in large measure been fostered by distorted federal incentives favoring primary care.  The need for physician access, while laudable, is rendered pointless if inadequate numbers of specialists are available to actually treat the diagnosed illness.  Changes in physician licensing are also needed to allow current physicians the opportunity to relocate to other areas which may have greater need, as the free market should allow . . . obi jo

The Lewin Group, a “healthcare consulting firm,” has predicted that the US “will face a severe shortage of gastroenterologists as the population ages and the demand for colorectal cancer screening increases.” In fact, “at current rates of cancer screening, the United States will need an additional 1,050 gastroenterologists by 2020.” Several other studies have also reached such conclusions. But, “fixing those shortages still may not improve colorectal cancer detection and treatment,” because “only 60 percent of people ages 50 and older said they had been screened in accordance with” current guidelines. Study author Tim Dall said that the “shortfall of gastroenterologists could limit the nation’s ability to implement national guidelines for [cancer] screening, particularly in underserved communities.” Notably, there “are currently 10,390 practicing gastroenterologists in the United States.”

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Gastroenterologist Shortage Is Forecast