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The World Health Organization publishes data on the number of physicians per 1,000 people for all countries. It's interesting to note that at 2.45 physicians per 1,000 people the U.S. ranks 54th (from the highest physician density) in the world in spite of the fact that we spend a much higher percentage of our gross domestic product on healthcare than any other country.
Is it possible that we are restricting the number of physicians (by restricting entry into medical schools) in order to keep the income of physicians high via the laws of supply and demand? Assuming higher physician density results in greater patient accessibility, might one conclude that if we had more physicians (and therefore more competition), more people would have access to healthcare and — based on the cost data for other countries — our cost (as a percent of GDP) would be less?
Rudi Kohler
Heber City