Texas A & M Health Science Center, College Station, TX 77843-1266, USA.
J Aging Health. 2013 Sep;25(6):1050-64. doi: 10.1177/0898264313497511. Epub 2013 Aug 5.
This study provides a current analysis of the size and characteristics of the board-certified geriatrician and geriatric psychiatrist workforce in Texas, and thereby its capacity to meet increasing health needs of elders.
Secondary data on Texas board-certified geriatricians and geriatric psychiatrists from American Board of Medical Specialties database were analyzed.
The study found 1 geriatrician per 5,132 elders, and 1 geriatric psychiatrist per 21,327 elders, in Texas. Over 62% of geriatricians had active certification, 30% were females and the average age was 55.2 years. Rural geriatricians were disproportionately scarce (p < .001).
The study indicated a serious shortage of board-certified geriatricians and geriatric psychiatrists in Texas. This shortage is worse than that at the national level, and more marked along the Texas-Mexico border and counties lacking large health facilities. Addressing this workforce deficiency requires improvements in the geriatric training pipeline, reimbursements, and practice environments.
本研究对德克萨斯州认证的老年医学家和老年精神病学家的规模和特征进行了当前分析，从而评估了其满足老年人日益增长的健康需求的能力。
对美国医学专业委员会数据库中德克萨斯州认证的老年医学家和老年精神病学家的二次数据进行了分析。
研究发现，德克萨斯州每 5132 名老年人有 1 名老年医生，每 21327 名老年人有 1 名老年精神病医生。超过 62%的老年医生拥有活跃的认证，30%为女性，平均年龄为 55.2 岁。农村地区的老年医生严重短缺（p<.001）。
研究表明，德克萨斯州认证的老年医学家和老年精神病学家严重短缺。这种短缺比全国水平更为严重，在德克萨斯州-墨西哥边境以及缺乏大型医疗机构的县更为明显。要解决这一劳动力短缺问题，需要改善老年医学培训管道、报销和执业环境。
