Surge in New US Medical Schools is a Positive Indicator

The New York Times reported over the weekend on an imminent surge in new medical schools to open in the US this year.  From that article:
“The proliferation of new schools is also a market response to a rare convergence of forces: a growing population; the aging of the health-conscious baby-boom generation; the impending retirement of, by some counts, as many as a third of current doctors; and the expectation that, the present political climate notwithstanding, changes in health care policy will eventually bring a tide of newly insured patients into the American health care system. If all the schools being proposed actually opened, they would amount to an 18 percent increase in the 131 medical schools across the country.”
For some perspective on the significance of this development, follow me past the jump. What does this mean for you,  a student of medical billing and coding?  The implication is clear.  That convergence of forces the Times referred to will ripple down through the entirety of the medical industry.  More patient need means more doctors are needed.  More doctors needed means more medical schools opening to accommodate that need.  It also means many more physician’s offices and practices will be coming online in the ensuing years.  This all translates into more job openings in the field of medical billing and coding to keep up with the growing demand for healthcare.  Do you have any friends or relatives who are also working toward careers in the health care field?  Share with us in the comments.

8 Responses to “Surge in New US Medical Schools is a Positive Indicator”

  1. Sandra Joseph

    Its great that more fields are opening in healthcare. I only hope that better time is put into online courses so that students do not feel overwhelmed or pressure by the short 7 day course outline that is currently being offered.
    Towards the end of my online experience it has become harder to obtain and absorb all the information that was being crammed into a one week period. It should have been better paced and more coding classes offered and not be given a course on how to do your resume; this was not something I wanted. It is sad to say that I did not enjoy the class at all. I found it redundent to be asked on my strageties on how to behave during a test and what to do to relieve the jitters. My time could have been better spent learning to code better.

  2. Tami Auten

    The recent hot topic of health care reform has sparked quite an interest in me. I have found myself analyzing how it will affect the medical billing and coding field and I was wondering what other’s views were on the subject. I believe that whatever happens with the reform bill, the field that I just recently completed courses on will be greatly impacted.
    On one hand, I can see that if the President’s health care reform is passed, and some kind of government appointed body becomes judge and jury, there could be an explosion of new jobs available in the field. I surmise this based on my experience that when there is any massive changes in a system that has been a certain way for some time, the so-called “long-timers” in the field tend to beg out and retire rather than learn a whole new way of doing things.
    On the other hand, because it is a constantly updating environment at its core, and the fact that there are more and more people going into the field since there has been a big push in public advertising about the merits of the job and the opportunities for education, the basic laws of supply and demand dictate that the more the supply, the less the demand.
    What do you think?

  3. As time goes by health care is improving all the time and we are finding ways to keep people alive for longer than ever before, and so, the worlds population is aging and many more health professionals will be needed in years to come. It’s looking like a great industry to become a part of, and salary levels, could become extremely competitive when compared with other industries making it a great career move to become qualified for.

  4. Basically I believe it is kind of good sign. The fact is that demand for health care is far from satisfied. The numbers can tell us more. There are about 330,000 doctors in this nation and one for every 650 people on average. If we can have more experienced doctors, American would be the healthiest people in the world.

  5. I really hope that the quickly expanding health industry maintains high service and teaching levels as opposed to rushing doctors and nurses through the system. With growing populations and life expectancy increasing it is more important than ever to produce a quality skilled workforce.

  6. Precious words are “Health is Wealth”.

    Everyone has a right to healthy living, It’s first and foremost duty of everyone is this industry to bring the health facilities to every single person in this world.

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