Shortage of pediatric endocrinologists found

For every 290 children with diabetes in the United States, there is only one board-certified pediatric endocrinologist, according to data recently published in The Journal of Pediatrics.

Using data from the American Board of Pediatrics and the National Survey of Children’s Health, researchers at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital found that there are 790 board-certified pediatric endocrinologists to care for 229,249 children with diabetes in the United States. The findings also indicated that the overall ratio of obese children to board-certified pediatric endocrinologists is 17,741-to-1.

In addition, geographic distribution of pediatric endocrinologists does not match that of children with diabetes and obesity. The ratio of children with diabetes to pediatric endocrinologists is 370-to-1 in the Midwest, 335-to-1 in the South and 367-to-1 in the West. However, the ratio is only 144-to-1 in the Northeast. Montana and Wyoming reported no board-certified pediatric endocrinologists. – by Rob Volansky

J Pediatr. 2008;152:331-336.

Those who took Economics 101 in college learned in that introductory course that whenever price controls are instituted, shortages always develop. This is a basic corollary of the law of supply and demand. Unfortunately not everyone took this course. The current shortage of pediatric endocrinologists can be traced back directly to the price controls imposed upon them by the government and other third-party payers. Without price controls there would be enough pediatric endocrinologists and we would not be facing the above shortages and disparities.

– Richard Dolinar, MD

Endocrine Today Editorial Board member