A new report indicated 74 percent of hospitals in New York have had to transfer emergency room patients because they don't have enough physicians, according to Syracuse.com.
In its annual survey, the Healthcare Association of New York State found factors such as the aging workforce, small portion of residents choosing primary care, medical school debt and physician preference for urban areas, is straining physician recruitment and retention at many hospitals, especially upstate.
The state would need 942 physicians to alleviate the shortage, 615 of them upstate, according to the report. Primary care physicians are in especially short supply, as are psychiatrists, hospitalists, emergency physicians, general surgeons and orthopedists.
The report called for increased use of telemedicine, increased funding for programs that place physicians in underserved areas and residency creation.
More articles on integration and physician issues:
Physicians, asleep on the job? You're not alone: The #YoTambienMeDormí Movement
10 medical schools with highest student debt
Study: Residents improve patient satisfaction