A report released last week by the University of California at San Francisco presents a picture of the state’s medical profession that few physicians–and increasing numbers of patients–would recognize.

According to "The Practice of Medicine in California," there are more physicians than ever in the state who are generally satisfied with their professional lives. The report, however, includes physicians who practice medicine half time or less. This distorts the report’s conclusions on both physician supply and access to care.

"The report’s authors wanted to present a profile of the state’s physician workforce–and that’s fine," CMA CEO Jack Lewin, M.D., said. "But at the rate our health care system is deteriorating, their reliance on data from two or more years ago gives a very distorted impression. It’s like releasing a report on the dot-com economy with figures from a year ago–things are just moving too fast."

Lewin said that as with the dot-com debacle and the current energy crisis, there have been numerous warning signs that California’s health care system is headed for crisis. "Reports like this one from UCSF, however well-intentioned, obscure the imminent crisis facing California patients," Dr. Lewin said.

CMA will soon release its own report based on its physician supply survey conducted earlier this year. The survey attempts to ascertain why California physicians are leaving the state or the profession.