With an aging population comes a higher demand for health care and doctors.

The number of people over age 65 is expected to double in the next 20 years, from 35 million to more than 70 million, according to U.S. News & World Report.

With an aging population comes a higher demand for health care and doctors. Experts predict that medical care won't keep up.

The American Academy of Family Physicians predicts a shortage of 40,000 family physicians in 2020. At this rate, America's health care system has about 100,000 family physicians and will require 139,531 in 10 years.

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Experts say the current environment is attracting only half the number of primary care doctors needed to meet patient demand. The main factor contributing to the gap is the 78 million Baby Boomers born between 1946 and 1964 who begin to turn 65 in 2011 as well as the current group of underserved patients (Source: USA Today).

A problem on the supply side is the number of U.S. medical school students choosing primary care has dropped 51.8 percent since 1997, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Experts also predict an impending shortage of cardiothoracic surgeons, leaving the U.S. with fewer surgeons available to perform heart and lung surgery.

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By 2025, researchers predict a 46-percent increase in demand for cardiothoracic surgeons and a drop of at least 21-percent in the number of such surgeons.

This shortage could also come at a time when cardiologists are in short supply, while cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death and disability in the United States. As the population ages, experts also predict shortages of orthopedic surgeons.

According to an American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) study, starting in 2016, 46 percent of hip replacements and 72 percent of knee replacements won't be performed because of a shortage of surgeons to do the job.

Another recent AAOS study shows part of the problem is that joint replacement patients will get younger. Researchers project that by 2011, more than 50 percent of patients needing hip replacements will be under 65.

More than 700,000 hip and knee replacements are performed each year in the U.S., and demand is expected to double in the next 10 years.

	Experts say the current environment is attracting only half the number of primary care doctors needed to meet patient demand.

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) encourages students to ask themselves the following questions before deciding to go to medical school:
• Do I care deeply about other people, their problems, and their pain?
• Do I enjoy helping people with my skills and knowledge?
• Do I enjoy learning and gaining new understanding? Do I often dig deeper into a subject than my teacher requires? Do I understand the value of learning beyond just making good grades?
• Am I interested in how the human body functions? Am I intrigued by the ways medicine can be used to improve life?