60% of doctors say they’re ready to quit their jobs

According to research, 60% of doctors say that if they had the opportunity they would quit their job today.

Via CincyBizJournal

Among MDs’ concerns are autonomy, regulatory, liability and reimbursement,experts told HealthLeaders Media.

“Physicians feel powerless,” HealthLeaders quoted Dr. Ray Walker, vice president foundation, as saying. “They don’t feel like their voices are being heard. They don’t feel like they were heard on the run up to health care reform and they don’t feel like they’re being heard now.”

The number who said they’d like to retire was only 45 percent in 2008, Walker told HealthLeaders.

Most won’t follow through, but “if only a small percentage follow through on any of that it could be worrisome to the workforce,” he said.

The U.S. could face a shortage of as many as 130,000 doctors by 2025, as the Business Courier reported Sept. 21.

The Tri-State would likely be affected and, by some counts, is already experiencing a shortfall.

Health reform is designed to reduce the ranks of the uninsured, which now number close to 50 million, by about 32 million. That could mean a large influx of patients to the system.

Patients needing basic care might be more likely to see “physician extenders,” such as physician assistant and nurse practitioners, than MDs in coming years.