The expansion of government health care regulations, most recently under Obamacare, has led to a growth in careers in health care administration.  Nevertheless, patients might be asking, “Is there a doctor in the house?” and getting an echo in response.

“Policy is shaping the health care delivery system,” P. J. Maddox, chairwoman of health administration and policy at George Mason University stated recently in an article which appeared in the D. C. Express.

“As a result, there’s a high demand for experts in health policy who can understand and shape laws governing health care, as well as for health administrators who are on the front lines of implementing those laws in hospitals and other health care organizations,” Eric Hal Schwartz wrote in the article. He goes on to note that “administrators or analysts for medical providers, corporations or nonprofit groups” will also be in high demand.

Note what is missing from this roster.  Two years ago, at a conference sponsored by the Center for American Progress, U. S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis noted that “Every month in the employment reports we see a growth in health care and it is not among doctors, much as we need them.”

“Can it be that we are spending more time on data collection than disease treatment due to a surplus of bureaucrats and a shortage of medical practitioners?” I asked at the time. I still think that it is a good question.

Malcolm A. Kline is the Executive Director of Accuracy in Academia.

If you would like to comment on this article, e-mailmal.kline@academia.org