I am a physician of Traditional Chinese Medicine and have been for 25 years. In all those years, I have heard countelss times from hundreds of patients that finding a PCP is getting more and more difficult. In addition, when patients do find someone, it can sometimes be several months befor the patient can be seen. Patients feel that the medical establishment is quick to prescribe drugs with numerous and unwanted side-effects. Patients want and deserve to have remedies that have a clear safety profile available to them. We have a shortage of primary care doctors due to many factors-excessive medical school debt, poor insurance reimburesemt, time constraints on direct patient contact, excessive paperwork. According to The Complexities of Physician Supply and Demand:Projections from 2019-2034 there will be approximately 37,800 to 124,000 less primary care doctors to treat an aging population. By 2032 the population over 65 yrs will grow by about 47% according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. Clearly there is a siginificant problem looming in the near future and the impacts on healthcare will be felt by all demographics. One solution would be to introduce Traditional Chinese Medicine into this setting. Currently TCM physicians treat numerous conditions ranging from pediatrics to geriatrics utilizing acupuncture, herbal medicine and the latest in neutraceuticals, lifestyle and dietetics. We are highly trained in our field, and many doctors have decades of clinical experience in fields ranging from neurology, mental health, pain management, cardiology and more. Now that there are doctoral programs that many are pursuing, we have even more opportunities to be of considerable aid in the current primary care crisis. Sadly, insurance reimbursement is miserably inadequate and physicians in our field cannot make a livable wage. We deserve recognition of our field of medicine that is thousands of years old. Our patients deserve care that is focused on a return to health in a safe and cost effective manner.
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