Boom or bust: future of health profession education

The future of allied health education depends greatly on the nature of economic, social, political and health trends. It behooves educators and administrators to consider such trends as dramatic cutbacks in educational funding, revision of Medicare and Medicaid hospital reimbursement policies, establishment of diagnosis related groups (DRG), increasing technology, the wave of conservatism and the aging population. The effect of the health profession is speculative, however, knowing these trends and properly preparing, revising and reorganizing for them will keep allied health educational programs viable. This paper addresses the trends and their impact on education.