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Should the federal government be more involved in solving the workforce shortage problem?
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Federal government should increase funds
The current data suggest that no single measure addressing the impending shortage of medical oncologists will be enough to significantly reduce or prevent the shortage. The federal government is in a position to make available additional funds for training more primary internal medicine doctors and subsequently increase the number of training slots for medical oncology physicians. Supporting the cost of fellowships and underwriting the expense for this training either directly, or through tax considerations, could increase the supply of medical oncologists.
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The steady downward pressure on reimbursement in the field of oncology needs to stop, and measures addressed at reimbursing oncologists for the true cost of expenses related to cancer care need to be implemented. With medical oncologists experiencing significant reductions in their average income in recent years, there will be continued erosion in the number of available medical oncologists and an even greater shortage than is currently predicted.
Steven Paulson, MD, is President and Chairman of Texas Oncology in Dallas.
Government should pay fair share
The federal government needs to ensure that it pays its fair share of the costs of training health professionals to care for an aging and expanding population. Physician shortages already affect the most vulnerable patients, and a national shortage of at least 100,000 physicians must be addressed even if our delivery system becomes more efficient.
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Teaching hospitals have deficit-funded the several thousand training positions added since the BBA went into effect, but their ability to train more physicians and other health professionals is limited by the federal government’s refusal to pay its fair share of the costs. Support is needed not only for the direct costs of training but also for the additional costs of creating an environment where discovery of new cures, the world’s best patient care, and the training of the next generation of health professionals can occur together.
Atul Grover, MD, PhD, is Chief Advocacy Officer at the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington.