茨城県の整形外科専門医の現状と問題点の検討

Analysis of the Current Status and Unsolved Problems of Orthopaedic Surgeons in Ibaraki Prefecture

　茨城県にある日本整形外科学会が認定する整形外科研修施設(以下，施設)数と，同学会認定整形外科専門医(以下，専門医)数を調査した．茨城県内の施設は45，専門医は272人で，全国の専門医総数は16,392人，全国平均348.8人であった．茨城県を含めた18都道府県の施設数は計1,154で，平均64.1であった．人口10万人当たりの人口比でみると，茨城県内の専門医数は9.1人と全国平均12.8人の約3/4であった．本調査から，茨城県の整形外科診療は改善が急務であると考えられた．

　We wanted to know how the orthopedic surgeons in Ibaraki Prefecture certified by the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) were working.　To do so we, investigated the number of orthopedic surgeons and institutions certified by the JOA in Ibaraki Prefecture and compared their numbers with the numbers in other major prefectures.　As of December 2008, the number of certified institutions in Ibaraki Prefecture totaled 45, and there were 272 centified orthopedic surgeons.　There are 16,392 orthopedic surgeons in Japan, and the average number in the 47 prefectures is 348.8.　The numbers of institutions certified by the JOA in other prefectures are：Hokkaido, 100；Tokyo, 159；Kanagawa, 112；Aichi, 91；Osaka, 154；Kyoto, 58；and Fukuoka, 98；and the average is 64.1.　The number of orthopedic surgeons per 100,000 residents was 9.1 in Ibaraki Prefecture, as opposed to the Japanese average of 12.8.　Based on these findings we concluded that Ibaraki Prefecture is far behind the other prefectures in terms of the numbers of orthopedic surgeons and institutions certified by the JOA, and there is a pressing need for improvement.