5 Education and Certification
The world of medicine moves too fast for any human to keep up. The standards and ongoing education requirements are too high for doctors to realistically stay up-to-date and continue providing care--and the country is already short-handed.
Between the rising demand for long-term care created by the aging of Baby Boomers, along with the drop in the number of caregivers due to the retirement of those same Boomers, there is a massive gap between need and access. Pushing more students through medical training programs, without reducing quality of care, requires some creative solutions.
This demographic crisis is compounded by the complex, interconnectivity of the global economy, which makes the security implications of public health more than just an idle threat. Add in the challenge of paying for the care of a generation of more patients, living longer than ever, and counting on federal aid to cover their costs, and it is easy to see why healthcare eats up more of the federal budget than any other expenditure.
Technology may be the only viable way forward. This, in part, is why Meaningful Use and the push toward universal interoperability of EHRs is urgent--and confounding to those who would prefer the market take care of itself. This is also why research initiatives not only require support, but a delivery system that actually takes advantage of the newest, best treatment available.
The list of incentives for future students to enter a high-stress, over-burdened field with an ambiguous compensation system--not to mention the ever-looming threat of malpractice lawsuits--is getting short. As scientific knowledge grows, the expectations on medical professionals do as well.
Ensuring competent, motivated individuals enter (and stay in) the medical field, and are rewarded for their efforts, is going to require all the associated issues receive some form of a solution as well.
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