Doctor Shortage Forces Clinic to Reject Patients

The Palo Alto Medical Foundation said Tuesday that it will no longer accept new primary care patients because of its shortage of doctors and nurses.

Physicians are deciding not to practice in the area because of the high cost of housing compared with the relatively low salaries caused by low reimbursement rates from managed care contracts, said Dr. David Hooper, senior administrator for clinical services.

The group has about 200 physicians serving about 180,000 patients. Hooper said four out of five doctors in the group cannot take new patients, and the average appointment wait is three months.