Geriatrics is the only medical fellowship where a doctor earns less money if they actually do one than if they don’t.
So, the older you get, the more health issues you’re likely to have, and the likelihood you’ll get quality medical care goes down. Make it make sense!
Healthcare has a real problem. There’s a shortage of primary care physicians, especially when it comes to geriatrics. Why the shortage? Well, there’s a lack of financial incentives, high burnout, inadequate training, and lack of prestige compared to other fields of medicine, to name a few. So that means as we age and require more medical care, our chances of receiving quality services actually decrease.
This highlights the importance of taking care of our own health and playing an active role, rather than hoping and waiting for healthcare to solve our problems for us. Healthcare needs to evolve. But only when the patients who need it demand more.
Geriatrics is a medical specialty that focuses on the health and care of older adults. However, it is also the only medical fellowship where a doctor earns less money if they actually practice it than if they don’t. This fact may seem counterintuitive since we expect highly specialized doctors to earn more than general practitioners.
This shortage of specialized doctors in geriatrics is especially concerning since the likelihood of health issues increases as we age. Unfortunately, our chances of receiving quality medical care go down as we get older, and the shortage of geriatricians exacerbates this issue.
The shortage of geriatricians highlights the importance of taking care of our own health and playing an active role in our healthcare. We cannot rely solely on healthcare to solve our problems. We must educate ourselves on our health issues and advocate for quality medical care.
The healthcare system needs to evolve to address the shortage of geriatricians and to provide better care for the aging population. However, change will only come when patients demand it. We must demand better care and more specialized doctors in geriatrics. We must also recognize the importance of geriatrics as a field of medicine and support the doctors who choose to practice it.
The shortage of geriatricians and the lack of financial incentives for those who specialize in it create a real problem in our healthcare system. As patients, we must take an active role in our health and demand better care. As a society, we must recognize the importance of geriatrics and support the doctors who choose to practice it. Only then can we ensure that the aging population receives the quality medical care they deserve.