Health Affairs

Posting date: February 4, 2004

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Health Affairs, 10.1377/hlthaff.w4.64
Copyright © 2004 by Project HOPE

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Perspective: Cardiology Workforce: A Shortage, Not A Surplus

W. Bruce Fye ^1*

¹ Bruce Fye is a professor of medicine and the history of medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota, and immediate past president of the American College of Cardiology.

^*Corresponding author.

Abstract

The United States faces a serious shortage of cardiologists as our population ages and the burden of heart disease grows. The problem is compounded by a cutback in the number of cardiology training positions a decade ago. Dramatic scientific, technological, and procedural advances fueled the growth of cardiology during the second half of the twentieth century. Patients benefited from access to specialists who transformed new knowledge into longer and better lives. Demand for cardiologists is strong and growing. An adequate supply of highly trained cardiologists is necessary to promote discovery and innovation and to help deliver state-of-the-art care to a growing number of cardiac patients.

Key Words: Physicians, Managed Care - Physicians, Managed Care, Workforce Issues, Research And Technology

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