United States Has a Major Shortage of Infectious Disease Physicians
The US faces a significant shortage of infectious disease (ID) specialists, a long-term trend that is not expected to improve in the near future. Four in five counties do not have any ID doctors. The lack of ID physicians has hindered pandemic response, quality of care and responsible use of antibiotics. Infectious disease training programs are struggling to recruit trainees. “It’s quite concerning for many of us, because obviously it’s suggesting that for many years we will not have the number of people necessary to manage infectious disease,” said IDSA President Dr. Carlos del Rio. This year 44% of available spots remained unfilled. The shortfall is even worse for pediatric ID training programs, with 51% of slots going unfilled. Federal health officials anticipate the shortages to persist for at least the next decade.
Full Story: HealthDay