Are specialties like anesthesiology and radiology becoming obsolete?

Question

Are specialties like anesthesiology, radiology, and family medicine becoming obsoete because technology is eliminating the need for them (esp radiology), and other areas of medicine are taking business away from them (like some surgeons that are starting to read their own x-rays etc).

Also, CRNA's are starting to administer anesthetic, and nurse practitioners are starting to write prescriptions at a fraction of the cost of physicians. Does this mean the end of these specialties? Thats what I heard. I also heard that they would become less popular with students, and that their incomes would drop. nasty

Answer 1

Not at all. If anything, they're becoming more important.

Radiology is not just technology, and images aren't objective tests: they require expert interpretation. It's a serious mistake to think something is either there or not on an image. And that doesn't even touch on the field of interventional radiology, a booming field.

Anesthesiology is never going to be in less demand. CRNA's are fine when the patient is ASA class I and everything goes well, but "who you gonna call" when the patient's unstable, or when the fecal matter hits the rotary ventilator? And they have a valuable role in other areas outside the OR, as well.

It's a similar mistake to think mid-level providers can supplant rather than supplement primary care. While they're fine for simple and uncomplicated cases, they're no substitute for a physician when things are not so routine. This is becoming more and more the case as the population ages, with large numbers of patients having multiple and complicated chronic illnesses. While insurance tends to try to force the family physician into the role of a simple pill-pusher, that's an aberrancy that will have to be corrected eventually.

Answer 2

He have already asked it 3 times

See

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Answer 3

Not in near future.There is further specialization like pediatric anesthesiology,cardiac anesthesiology,diagnostic radiology,therapeutic radiology,radiation oncology, dental radiology,forensic radiology , family medicine,counseling etc.

Because of this some doctors are in acute short supply. Paramedics are thankfully helping.