The U.S. gastroenterologist shortage explained (KevinMD)

The U.S. gastroenterologist shortage is no longer a temporary staffing problem—it’s a structural crisis decades in the making. Fewer trainees entering the field, frozen Medicare funding for fellowships, early retirements, and soaring demand for procedures like colonoscopy and ERCP have created a widening annual deficit, driving salaries, locum costs, and hospital strain to historic highs. The warning is stark: for many health systems, the only thing costlier than hiring a gastroenterologist is not having one at all.