Industry News | 11.20.24
As the Senior Population Grows, Number of Specialized Care Doctors Not Keeping Pace
By NAMSS Staff
KERA-TV News (11/13/24) Moreno, David
The number of geriatricians — doctors who specialize in caring for older adults and their complex medical needs — are in demand. But as the population continues to age, the number of available board-certified geriatricians is scarce. U.S. Census data showing that 21% of the U.S. population will be aged 65 and older by 2030. Dr. Janice Knebl, professor of internal medicine and geriatrics with the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine at UNT Health Science Center in Fort Worth, said, "I graduated my [geriatrics] fellowship back in 1988, and we knew back then that we were not going to have enough geriatricians." Knebl said it is challenging to get young medical students interested in the field because they earn about $20,000 less than internal medicine physicians and are paid mostly through Medicare reimbursements. Geriatricians also | complete an additional year of subspecialty fellowship training to learn how to care for complex illnesses. Across the United States, there were more than 7,400 board-certified geriatricians as of 2021. But the American Geriatrics Society expects that by 2030, the country will need more than 12,320 geriatricians. Dr. Nnyekaa Collins, a geriatrician at JPS' Magnolia Health Center, noted that geriatric medicine is a fulfilling field, but not a glamorous one. "As the demand increases, it can be harder for them to find care, especially from a trained geriatrician that is more comfortable working with patients experiencing frailty. It impacts our patients day to day," she said.
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