Out of Practice

I just want to alert readers to a wonderful new book that my series at Cornell University Press has published called Out of Practice: Fighting for Primary Care Medicine in America http://www.amazon.com/Out-Practice-Fighting-Medicine-Politics/dp/0801449766/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1310582734&sr=1-1. It is written by primary care physician Frederick Barken and details why so many physicians are going out of practice — not choosing to become primary care physicians or leaving primary care practice far earlier than they ordinarily would have.  It’s really a must read.  It’s a great memoir but also details all a serious look at the policies and financial imperatives that make primary care medicine in this country so unrewarding.  We need primary care doctors.  Many more of them, but only about 20 percent of medical students are choosing to go into primary care.  Why?  Read Barken to get a real understanding of how deep and critical this crisis is.