Nationwide Primary Care Physician Shortage Hits CNY Hard

By Alex Reed


Syracuse, N.Y. - Matthew Lorber is a doctor at University Hospital but says he plans to move back to New York City once his fellowship ends.

"That's where I'm from," he says. "That's where most of my friends are. That's where most of my family is. A lot more job opportunities down there as well. Just the benefits that the city has to offer. Also, the weather is nicer."

But it's not just that upstate New York has fewer primary care doctors, which include pediatricians and family physicians. There are fewer doctors coming out of medical schools choosing to practice primary care. A decade ago, more than half of doctors in the U.S. chose primary care after their residency. Three years ago, that number had dipped to 1 in 5. So why the big plunge?

"With Medicare reimbursement remaining at a low level and proposed cuts each and every year and with health insurers reducing reimbursement, young people coming out of medical school and out of residency programs, faced with these 100 to 200 thousand dollars in loans for their training, there's not much of a financial incentive for them to go into primary care," says Gerald Hoffman, Executive VP of the Onondaga County Medical Society.


Here in upstate, that problem is made worse. Doctors in general tend to try to find work in big cities, that can offer larger salaries to pay off huge medical school debt. In Syracuse, experts say not having a consolidated children's hospital is a major barrier to attracting doctors to come. This has left upstate New York with an older primary care workforce and not enough incoming doctors to fill the void.

"Because of a lack of having a consolidated childrens hospital and really the desire of many pediatric residents who eventually become pediatric physicians to actually train and work at childrens hospitals, that's why you see such a shortage of physicians, pediatric trained physicians here in Syracuse," says Bj Adigun, Director of Community Development for Golisano Children's Hospital.

Hope on the Horizon

When the Golisano Children's hospital opens here next year, not only will it attract a team of new primary care physicians, it will allow families in the region closer access to pediatric care.

"It's the kind of project that I think can bring everyone in the community together and they can see the importance of having world class healthcare for our kids," Adigun says.

Mike Mincolla is a 4th-year med student at SUNY Upstate Medical University. "One of the main reasons why my wife and I do want to stay in Syracuse is, being from Syracuse, we were born and raised actually in North Syracuse so being a local has a lot to do with it," he says.

History has shown, experts say, that if you build one hospital, soon enough all of the beds will fill up, creating a need to build another one. And that's something children and their parents can smile about.