PLATTSBURGH — Local health-care leaders continue their search for new doctors to alleviate a growing physician shortage, but the process is not generating positive results.

The area has lost several physicians to illness, retirement or more favorable conditions elsewhere, and there appears to be no easy solution to the problem.

“In general, there is a physician shortage, not only locally but in the state, the country and globally,” said Dr. David Anderson, a Plattsburgh physician. “There are a lot of factors; it’s a complicated issue.”

FALLING BEHIND

Anderson, the new chief of medical staff for CVPH Medical Center, spoke recently at Plattsburgh Noon Rotary, sharing with business leaders some startling information on the physician shortage.

“Medical schools are not turning out enough physicians to meet an increasing demand,” he said, noting that shortages in primary-care doctors and psychiatrists have hit the North Country especially hard.

“There was a sense years in gone by that we were producing too many medical doctors, so medical schools slowed down. Now we are busy trying to catch up with the demand.”

PAY MATTERS

The North Country’s geography compounds that problem, he said.

“We live in an isolated area. A person who is looking for a smaller area and likes the outdoors may be attracted to our region, but to really attract people to the North Country, we need to be able to offer them financial incentives.”

Nearly half of all physicians come out of medical school with more than $175,000 in debt from student loans. That adds an immediate burden on new doctors who are trying to establish practices, particularly in a rural setting such as northern New York.

“When they are deciding what kind of specialty to turn to, they are going to consider salaries,” Anderson said.

A typical starting salary for a primary-care doctor may be around $170,000, while a specialist may start around $300,000, he said.