Have you seen them? They used to be among us. They used to be in your neighborhoods. We depend on them for our very life; from the day we’re born till the day we die, inclusive; and there are fewer and fewer in Florida. I am speaking about your doctors. The Florida health care task force knows that there are 54,000 licensed physicians in Florida, and as pointed out in a recent response to an earlier column, that translates to an increase each year keeping up with the Florida population. The numbers alone are very deceiving, however. The numbers don’t tell you that 25 percent of these licensed physicians do not even live in Florida. The numbers don’t tell you that 26 percent of the total are part-time physicians practicing less than 20 hours each week. Additionally, some 13 percent of Florida doctors say they plan to leave the state or reduce or end their practice over the next five years. Thirty-two percent of physicians in Florida were approaching retirement age (ages 55 and over) in 2004. That leaves somewhere between 27,000 and 34,000 full-time equivalent doctors caring for 15 million Floridians, a number estimated to be 50 percent too little. Current Department of Health data show that over half of active, licensed Florida physicians are over 50 years of age. More than 22 percent are older than 65. Some trial attorneys will lay blame wherever they can to deflect their own involvement in the disappearance. They blame public policy in 1970, or various organizations, or blame it on national trends; but the reality is that your doctors are leaving in part because of the legal system. And I know where they are going. Florida now has seven medical schools because the Legislature is aware of the shortage of physicians. It approved three new schools in the last five years. Florida ranks 41st in the number of medical students per capita and 46th in the per capita number of medical residents. But neither Gov. Charlie Christ nor state lawmakers can make the new doctors stay in Florida. We can pay for medical student training at a cost of about $250,000, and they burden themselves with another $200,000 of debt only to leave Florida at the rate of 86 percent.
Please click on the link below to read the Tampa Bay Online article:
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/sep/17/na-solving-the-mystery-of-the-missing-doctors/
The Citron Law Firm, P.A. (www.citronlegal.com) is a civil trial practice law firm that specializes in professional liability and injury cases, commercial and real estate litigation and family law matters. The Citron Law Firm is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 707 S.E. Third Avenue, Sixth Floor – (954) 712-1686.
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