An alarming report from the Association of Medical Colleges says America will be short a million doctors by 2025 and that the shortage of primary care physicians makes up a third of that number. We're already feeling the effects of the shortage today. MarketWatch: Tasked with checkups and referring more complicated health problems to specialists, these doctors have the most consistent contact with a patient. But 65 million people live in what’s “essentially a primary-care desert,” said Phil Miller of the physician search firm Merritt Hawkins. Without those doctors, our medical system is “putting out forest fires — just treating the patients when they get really sick,” said Dr. Richard Olds, the chief executive officer of the Caribbean medical school St. George’s University, who is attempting to use his institution’s resources to help alleviate the shortage. Dr. Ramanathan Raju, CEO of public hospital system NYC...(Read Full Post)