Guest Column: Prepare For The New Patient Influx

By Mike Melville, president, IntelliSoft Group

It is already difficult for some of us to find a primary care physician. So how can our country accommodate an influx 32 million newly insured patients under healthcare reform when the system is already overburdened? The fact that only 4% of new doctors choose to become primary care physicians each year suggests the problem will only get worse. How can we be sure that the doctors we need will be there and the quality of care will not suffer during this demand explosion?

The good news is that this influx will not happen overnight, so we have some time to prepare. In fact, the new law starts the ball rolling by providing three basic ways to address this impending problem.