In light of diminishing primary care MD/DO providers (early retirement, no new Medicare/Medicaid patients), and the soon to be implemented ACA, would podiatrists be qualified to fill some of the gaps? I cannot get a read on the current state of training regarding their clinical skills, or capabilities with respect to medical management of HTN, DM, Obesity, counseling, minor dermatologic conditions, GI/GU screening, Neuro, Cardio, Pulm, Psych assessment, etc. The threads on this site are ambivalent, as is much of the literature. Are they qualified to do a thorough workup? I understand that they have extensive training (seven years[?] period, but cannot get a good read on their skills with respect to evaluating patients outside of feet. (I am an MD fact finding for a national project). If you should have any questions feel free to PM me, and we can discuss this further.