Wither Primary Care?

Michael J Pentecost, MD

Fall 2006 - Volume 10 Number 3

https://doi.org/10.7812/TPP/06-079

The report from the American College of Physicians (ACP) didn't pull any punches.1 Primary care is on the verge of collapse. Senior physicians are retiring or leaving the field; medical students are avoiding the discipline like the plague; health care capital is in full retreat; new technology investments are lagging. With demand for primary care services expected to skyrocket, the timing couldn't be worse. As the demographic bulge of baby boomers begins to turn 60, the ranks of Medicare patients will grow from 39 million to 72 million by 2030, then comprising nearly one fifth of the population.1