What can be done to boost doctors’ numbers?

Switzerland has a high number of doctors per capita, so why does everyone think there’s a shortage? When you have two small children like I do, you are happy that you can get an appointment quickly with your local children’s doctor or general practitioner. Even hospital appointments can be sorted out fast in Switzerland. Indeed, with 4.0 doctors per 1,000 of the population, Switzerland comes in at 7th on the OECD listings for 2013 (neighbour Austria heads the rankings at 5.0). This puts it on a par with Germany and France - and it far outstrips the Anglo-American world in this respect. But scratch under the surface and you will see that around 30% of doctors practicing in Switzerland have foreign qualifications. This rises to 40% in hospitals. This is because the country itself doesn’t produce enough home-trained doctors – a situation the government wants to change. It says 1,300 new medics are needed per year by 2025 to ensure health care provision ...