The supply of hematology/oncology specialists

J La State Med Soc. 2014 Jan-Feb;166(1):10-4. Epub 2014 Feb 10.

Abstract

National hematology and oncology organizations and experts in the field, predict a shortage of hematology/oncology specialists in the United States. Four types of hematology/oncology graduate medical education programs picked to represent direct patient care specialists are presented as physician supply in quantitative data proportional to the averages of the United States in this paper. The hematology/oncology physician production in Louisiana is similar to the average of all programs in the United States. The complexities of having several hematology/oncology graduate medical education programs, along with other specialists, make physician supply more difficult to predict. The patient care demand will rise gradually as the population increases and aging of the population ensues. Technology proliferates, and reform adds patient numbers. As the US shortage of hematology/oncology specialists occurs, the state of Louisiana is tracking the United States in supply and will show the shortage in the same way, same timing, and for the same reasons.

MeSH terms

  • Education, Medical, Graduate*
  • Humans
  • Louisiana
  • Medical Oncology / education*