Fears that many physicians will soon retire because 26 percent of them are 60 or over, creating a physician shortage, compete with fears that too many older physicians could create a quality-performance gap.
But Joel Kupfer, M.D., a professor at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Peoria. asserts hat there’s little evidence that older physicians are more likely than younger ones to see their skills deteriorate or avoid learning the latest techniques.
Dr. Kupfer says any national guidelines should “be applied to all physicians, regardless of age, wherever and whenever they work.”
