Family doctors leaving practices

Family doctors increasingly are leaving their practices despite growing need
By Bob LaMendola South Florida Sun-Sentinel
November 17, 2008

Family doctors are fading from their role as the glue of health care, as more leave the field for greener pastures and fewer young doctors replace them.

South Florida has been hit hard, with dozens or even hundreds of primary-care doctors giving up their practices in recent years because of slow-growing income, increased business headaches and unpredictable hours.

To avoid a shortfall, the American Academy of Family Physicians estimates that Florida will need 63 percent more primary doctors within a decade, giving the state the third-highest gap in the nation.

For patients, the trend means fewer doctors to choose from, longer waits for appointments, making greater use of emergency rooms and walk-in clinics where doctors may not know them — or skipping care altogether. When that happens, medical experts said health care becomes more fragmented, duplicative, costly and less effective.
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