Contact: Kyle Lewis Desk: (858) 300-2784 Cell: (619) 991-9242 E-mail: KLewis@SDCMS.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Primary Care in Crisis in San Diego County The San Diego County Medical Society’s 2007 Physician Workforce and Compensation Survey Casts a Sobering Light on the Future of Access to Primary Medical Care Within the County San Diego – January 29, 2008 – San Diego County’s primary care physicians — comprising the specialties of family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics/gynecology — are in short supply, a situation that will get worse before it gets better, according to the findings of the San Diego County Medical Society’s (SDCMS) 2007 Physician Workforce and Compensation Survey. “With our Physician Workforce and Compensation surveys — first done in 2002, and then again in 2005 and 2007 — SDCMS is attempting to monitor San Diego County’s physician workforce so that physician shortages within the county, whether actual or projected, can be identified before they turn into access-to-care crises,” commented Tom Gehring, SDCMS CEO. “Primary care is in actual crisis in the county.” According to the survey’s findings, the primary care specialty of internal medicine is currently “in crisis” (defined as having longerthan-average wait times for new patients and being perceived by physicians as experiencing a shortage and recruitment difficulties), and two of the other three primary care specialties, family medicine and obstetrics/gynecology, are “in difficulty” (defined as having two of the three “in crisis” criteria). As for other specialties, SDCMS’ survey found the specialties of neurology, orthopedic surgery, and psychiatry “in crisis” as well. Along with uncovering evidence that points toward a crisis in primary care in San Diego County and in several other specialties, SDCMS’ 2007 survey reveals little if any tolerance among physicians for any further cuts in the already poorly reimbursed government programs of Medicare, Medi-Cal, and County Medical Services (CMS). When asked how they would respond to a 10% cut in Medicare (scheduled for July 2008), a 10% cut in Medi-Cal (recommended by Gov. Schwarzenegger), and continued decreases in CMS reimbursements, physicians responded with a resounding, “No more!” If such reimbursement cuts are implemented, a critical number of San Diego County’s physicians would either take no new Medicare/Medi-Cal/CMS patients, significantly reduce the number of those patients they currently care for, or eliminate those patients from their practices entirely — possibly breaking the back of an already broken healthcare system. “At the close of 2007, San Diego County’s physicians were looking at a 10% cut in their Medicare reimbursements, which was only postponed until this July. With these Medicare cuts, coupled with the $14 billion budget gap in Sacramento, which promises further cuts to an already underfunded Medi-Cal, and the recent collapse of healthcare reform in California, more and more physicians are being forced to choose between their Medicare and Medi-Cal patients and their practices,” according to Albert Ray, MD, current SDCMS president. “What all three of our surveys bring to light and what we need to focus in on in the coming years is the very real possibility that, unless Medicare and Medi-Cal payments are calculated to reflect actual practice costs, and unless we look seriously at addressing a primary care crisis that is developing in the county, we won’t have the luxury of debating healthcare reform for another year. Reform will be forced upon us,” concludes Dr. Ray. For a copy of the San Diego County Medical Society’s 2007 Workforce and Compensation Survey, contact Kyle Lewis at SDCMS at (858) 300-2784 or e-mail him at KLewis@SDCMS.org. ### The San Diego County Medical Society (SDCMS), the professional association for physicians in San Diego County, was founded in 1870 and currently counts more than 2,500 practicing physicians within the county as members, with an additional 400 resident physicians and medical students. SDCMS — “Physicians United for a Healthy San Diego” — fights for access to quality healthcare for all San Diegans.