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Britt Focuses on Surgeon Shortage Print E-mail
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L.D. Britt, MD, MPH, Brickhouse Professor and chair of surgery, says a growing shortage of general surgeons in the U.S. could narrow the availability of care, especially in trauma centers, unless the trend is reversed.



General surgeons play a crucial role in the health-care team, treating patients with traumatic injuries or medical emergencies such as appendicitis. A shortage can create backlogs that limit patients’ access, says Dr. Britt, who has made raising awareness to this problem the marquee issue of his term as chair of the Board of Regents of the American College of Surgeons. 

 


“Most of the trauma centers are staffed by general surgeons,” Dr. Britt, a surgeon with EVMS Health Services, said during an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America Health. “If you have appendicitis, if you have an abdominal obstruction, it’s a general surgeon who’s going to provide that care, and right now we have a major shortage.”

According to the ACS, three quarters of all U.S. hospitals say there are too few on-call surgeons to keep their emergency rooms fully staffed, and too few doctors are being trained to replace the one-third of general surgeons age 55 and over who are considering retirement.

 

“You can have the best insurance in the world, but if you don’t have access to a surgeon during a surgical emergency, that’s problematic,” says Dr. Britt. “We’re ringing the bell to tell the public that access to quality surgical care is at risk.”

In March, the ACS launched Operation Patient Access to try to regain lost ground in what was once among the most sought-after fields in medicine. Dr. Britt says a few changes could ensure the surgical workforce is capable of caring for growing patient needs. Increasing graduate medical education funding to train more surgery residents, easing regulatory hurdles, expanding student loan-forgiveness programs and improving health-care provider reimbursement rates are all steps Dr. Britt says would clear some of the obstacles facing general surgery.
Last Updated on Monday, 07 September 2009 18:50