MEDICAL EDUCATION BOARD REVEALS EXCESS OF DOCTORS

There are more physicians in the United States than are needed, it was revealed by the Commission on Medical Education, of which President Lowell is the head, in its final report recently made public. President Lowell was appointed head of the commission in 1925, when it was established by the Association of American Medical Colleges to investigate medical education and licensing, and to suggest ways of bringing that education into closer harmony with present day society.

In addition to more than 25,000 doctors above the necessary number, the committee has also found that there is a mal-distribution of physicians, with only 10 per cent practicing in small towns.

A tendency to over-specialization has also been discovered, and a performance of unnecessary services at excessive costs and a lowering of the standard of medical care.

As a remedy, the commission has advocated a socialization of the profession. Physicians should continue to be trained to deal with the health problems of the individual, with full recognition of the relationships of some of the features to the family and the community.