Disappearing Doctors

The traditional image of a diligent family doctor, who was always available and personally familiar with every patient's history, is fast disappearing. As medical technology and clinical treatments have become more advanced, extending lives and improving the general quality of life for millions, an impending crisis threatens the very backbone of healthcare systems around the world: - that is, the vanishing of the traditional doctor.

This crisis is not a sudden event, but has been a slow burn, fueled by a complex interaction of demographic transformation, failure of political structure, scapegoating of physicians for recent years of opiate crisis, systemic inefficiencies, punitive oversight by governing bodies, corporate greed, infiltration by ancillary providers, advent of artificial intelligence and shifting societal expectations.

At its heart is a straightforward imbalance is aging society, as individuals grow older, the medical need becomes more complex, the demand for healthcare services rises, but the number of physicians who enter into the medical field specifically primary care, and, remain in the workforce is rapidly falling behind.