Surgeons and surgery in Rhode Island, 1970 and 1977

In the 1970s the likelihood of an oversupply of physicians in the United States began to be recognized by health-manpower analysts. The number of surgeons available to meet the population's needs was of particular concern. Using data from 1970 on four representative geographic areas, including Rhode Island, investigators in the Study on Surgical Services for the United States (SOSSUS) found operative workloads of surgeons to be light by any standard; they recommended several actions to limit the number of physicians performing operations. I repeated the 1970 SOSSUS analysis of Rhode Island, using data from this state for 1977. Comparison of the results for 1970 and 1977 indicated that, at least in this state, little or no progress had been made in reducing the excess of surgical manpower. As of 1977, the SOSSUS recommendations were having no demonstrable impact in Rhode Island. The number of surgeons was continuing to increase without apparent need, as judged by operative workloads.