Philadelphia Personal Injury Attorney Blog | Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis LLP

According to an article appearing last week in the Pittsburgh Business Times, "Pennsylvania is losing doctors, and shortages are being reported in some specialties, such as neurosurgery, according to local health officials." The article states that between 1998 and 2004 the number of Pennsylvania doctors declined to 32,000 from more than 36,500. In addition, the article states that only 7.8 percent of resident physicians who trained in the state in 2004 applied to practice here, as opposed to 50.5 percent in 1994, which may partly be responsible for the dramatic decline in doctors. In addition, the article states that "There are no neurosurgeons between Pittsburgh and Altoona in Blair County . . . and shortages of ob/gyn doctors have also been reported."

Of course, let us deflate this anxiety. First, why are there no neurosurgeons between Pittsburgh and Altoona? The main reason why there are no neurosurgeons in this area is that there are no large communities in the area. Where would a neurosurgeon be based: Blairsville (Pop. 3400) or Ebensburg (Pop. 3000)? This does not constitute a real shortage. The truth (according to the American Medical Association) is that the number of neurosurgeons in the state actually increased by 20 percent from 1990 to 2004. As for the "reported" shortage of ob/gyns, the number of ob/gyns also increased from 1990 to 2004 by nearly 10 percent, from 1551 to 1694.

What about the doctor shortage? Well, the American Board of Medical Specialties lists 34,313 certified specialists in the state in 2007, so either the ABMS is counting twice or there are more doctors in the state in 2007 than there were in 2004. Or, let us assume that the number of doctors is 32,000 or less, say 31,700, to three significant figures. Does this mean that there is a doctor shortage in Pennsylvania?

No, quite the opposite. A table prepared by the Texas Medical Association to argue that Texas should fund more doctor training, Pennsylvania is shown to have more doctors per capita than any state besides New York, 255 per 100,000 people, far above the national average of 236. In other words, doctors are not in short supply.

Nor are medical errors. If you have been injured as a result of medical malpractice, contact the experienced medical malpractice lawyers at Pomerantz, Perlberger, and Lewis, LLP, today for a free initial consultation.