Diabetes and other conditions such as obesity have become some of this nation's most pressing medical concerns. But in Philadelphia--and across the nation--there's a serious lack of endocrinologists available to treat these diseases. A study by the Hospital Association of Pennsylvania found that there are 22 percent too few endocrinologists to treat the state's diabetes patients; that number is 12 percent for the rest of the nation. Observers say that the lack of these specialists is due to the fact that they're not compensated well enough for the amount of care they must give diabetes patients. "The payment system is perverse and discriminates against taking care of complicated diseases like diabetes," Richard Hellman, president of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE), said in the Philadelphia Inquirer. "It takes more time and more effort, and no one will reward you financially for that."
The AACE states that there will be a 25 to 35 percent shortage of endocrinologists by 2020, as practicing docs retire and fewer new specialists enter the field. Given that seeing an endocrinologist may now require months of waiting, this could balloon into a serious problem as baby boomers hit their retirement years.
For more on the growing shortage:
- read the article form the Philadelphia Inquirer