- There’s a growing problem for older Americans: doctors who specialize in geriatric care are dwindling.
- More than 80 million Americans are expected to be older than 65 by 2050, according to the US Census Bureau.
- However, geriatricians are in short supply, which could complicate access to care.
Jerry Gurwitz, a 68-year-old geriatrician based in Massachusetts, is at a tricky point in his career.
He’s spent decades taking care of older Americans, but now, as Gurwitz approaches the age of some of his own patients, he sees a brewing problem with his profession: there aren’t many people willing to take his job, and he has serious doubts over whether there will be enough doctors to properly take care of people as they get older, he told Business Insider.
Gurwitz, who graduated medical school in 1983, said he saw this problem brewing decades ago as he was completing his medical education. Part of…