Urgent Care ReviewAs the citizens of the US get older, the need for Emergency and Urgent care also grows. The existing doctor deficiency in the U. S. is expected to get worse over time. Other issues are affecting this shortage as well, including the dwindling economy and the recently signed into law health care reform. As is the case elsewhere in the country, Emergency Medicine in Texas is experiencing many of the same challenges as other specialties. For many of the 2500+ Texas emergency doctors the future is uncertain. Of those twenty five hundred plus physicians, 2316 are M. D. ‘s and 323 are D. O. ‘s. While there may be some differences in training, both M. D. ‘s and D. O. ‘s are equally accredited and eligible to become an Emergency Medicine physician. An Emergency Medicine physician typically has at least 10-12 years of education including a B. A. (undergraduate) in a health related or science related field, a medical doctorate (graduate, M. D. or D. O. ), and an accredited Emergency Medicine residency (post-graduate). Primary Care Deficit leads to Emergency Physician shortageAccording to a press release by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, Urgent care doctors will have ample of work accessible from Medicare, but they may not desire it. Medicare remunerates less than desirable fees than private insurance so General Care physicians are much less likely to take on new Medicaid individuals. As a consequence, up to a third of all Medicare patients may not be able to find a Primary Care physician at all and may ultimately turning to Emergency care care as a last resort. Some locations are hit harder than others by these these figures, such as Arizona. In some areas of the sandy state, Primary Care doctor-to-patient ratio is less than 6 physicians per ten thousand residents, according to a study by St. Lukes. The result of many more individuals not having access to primary care will be an intensified use of Emergency Room and Urgent Care E. R. ‘s. Naturally, Emergency and Urgent Care physicians are going to have their caseloads full if this trend is not dealt with. Weakened Economy results in Crowded ClinicsAs the declining economy runs its course; many of the working to lower class are without availability and affordability to health benefits. Insurance policies are being terminated at an rapid rate, and citizens receiving (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) policies are also running out of options. With time running out on reasonable healthcare, many individuals have decided they must do without good preventative doctor visits. As you might predict, when the intensity of the issue can no longer be ignored with rest and over the counter remedies, and starts to intensely interfere with daily activities, the ER may be the final place to turn to. Through the stock market crash, the housing bust, and record breaking unemployment records, emergency rooms and Urgent Care clinics are filling up faster than ever. Baby Boomers in the ERAnother factor in the intensification of Emergency Medicine cases in the United States is due to another socioeconomic group that cannot be ignored. The baby boomers will account for an exorbitant increase of the 65 and older demographic. This group statistically requires considerably more assets, personnel, specialists, and physician care. They need hospital and Emergency room services more often than any other age group. Can Health Care Reform Solve ER problems?Whether the health reform will decimate us or not is neither here nor there. Even though it has voted on and been signed into law, the major changes are not set to go into full effect until 2014. The repercussions of said reform may not be fully comprehensive for some time after that. Emergency Medicine clinics overcapacity is a major problem, given the raising number of geriatric patients, uninsured patients, and underinsured patients. If the insurance coverage reform doesn’t address the problems it promises, then the troubles cannot be expected to get better. Emergency room overcrowding is no new matter. What the healthcare reform should tackle is the loss of emergency room facilities. Between 1993 and 2003, the US lost over 400 ER facilities. What can uninsured patients do? Besides hoping that an ambulance can get them or their loved ones to an Emergency room facility in time, they can’t do much other than just that, hope. . In that same period, Urgent Care Clinic visits greatly increased by over twenty five percent. Physicians in these scenarios will without a doubt have their workload cut out for them. Even with the health insurance bill after all passed into law its effect on our health insurance programs is not known. By 2014 their will be an expansion in the induction into health insurance programs. This rise when, combined with the long term aging of the population, should push demand for services and therefore cost higher. However, no one yet knows what will happen to recompense rates from Medicare and this new program. The question is will there be rate a cut of reimbursement rates for different specialties by Medicare and this new program that may conversely become a issue decreasing the wages of all specialties including Urgent Care, and related specialties / subspecialties.