reform , they must have a primary care doctor to whom they can turn for everyday problems : annual physicals and preventive care , diagnosis and treatment for common illness , and diagnosis and treatment of complex , chronic conditions , referral to subspecialists , and coordination of care provided by a team of professionals . Our current system has a serious and growing shortage of these primary care physicians . Today , only 30 percent of physicians provide primary care and 70 percent subspecialize in a single organ system or disease . We need a system in which patients get the right kind of care at the right time in the right place by the right type of provider . They need health services that provide not just convenient hours for minor health problems , but also medical expertise that ensures consistent , ongoing care ; accurate diagnoses of symptoms ; coordination with pharmacists , other specialists and allied health professionals such as physical therapists ; consistent follow-up ; and convenience . All at an affordable cost . Several health reform proposals set forth by President Obama and Congress would move federal policy in that direction . How ?
Editor 's note : Ted Epperly , M.D. , a family physician in Boise , Idaho , is president of the American Academy of Family Physicians , which represents more than 93,000 physicians and medical students nationwide . He spent 21 years in the U.S. Army , including service as a family physician , chief of a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital emergency room during Desert Storm and Desert Shield , and deputy commander of an Army medical center . Ted Epperly says recruiting more primary care doctors would improve access to quality health care . -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Clayton Christensen , Jason Hwang and Vineeta Vijayaraghavan are right about one thing in their CNN commentary titled `` We do n't need more doctors . '' America 's health care system is broken . It requires significant reform if patients are to have access to convenient , affordable and -- most importantly -- high-quality care that results in good outcomes . But they have missed a central point . We need more primary care physicians now and we will need even more in the future as the baby boom generation ages . If Americans are to see meaningful health care