Considering the medical staffing shortage in Southern Nevada

By Greg Griffin

Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017 | 9:50 a.m.

We’ve all heard about or experienced the doctor shortage in Nevada, but most people aren’t aware why it happened, and more importantly, what health care companies are doing to address it.

In the past several years, quite a few events changed the landscape of our insured population. First, the Affordable Care Act, enacted in 2010, required health insurance for all and gave greater access to individuals who had not had health coverage, in addition to expanding Medicaid. At the same time, many of the 76.4 million baby boomers became eligible for Medicare.

Southern Nevada already had a doctor shortage prior to the ACA, but the act led to flooding the system with more people going to the doctor than before.

As of press time, we don’t know what changes will be made to the health care plan, but most likely won’t alter the demand for care. The fact is that the number of available professionals hasn’t kept up with increased need and improved access to care.

In addition to the ACA, primary care residency programs have decreased across the country because those interested in the medical profession can get discouraged due to the low compensation relative to the expense of medical school costs. In the United States, the Association of American Medical Colleges reported the median cost of a four-year medical school education for the 2014-2015 academic year at $226,447 for public schools and $298,538 for private schools. According to Medscape’s 2016 Physician Compensation Report, the starting salary for a primary-care resident is $54,000 per year. Here in Southern Nevada, we are not only limited in the number of residency programs, but also with the number of medical schools.

To combat this, Southwest Medical Associates is working together with our community’s medical schools. A gift of $145,000, recently provided to the Touro University Nevada Physician Assistant Studies Program, will fund the purchase of new equipment and curriculum, enhancing training materials. Last year, United Health Foundation announced their partnership with the UNLV School of Medicine to create a new integrated training program for medical students, funded by a $3 million grant. The foundation, established by UnitedHealth Group which includes Southwest Medical Associates, is a not-for-profit, private foundation dedicated to improving health and health care. The new UNLV School of Medicine will help in years to come, however, in the meantime, demands on the system continue.

The demand for primary care physicians continues to grow. From 2010 to 2014, Nevada saw an increase of 250,000 additional insured, with a corresponding increase in patient visits by more than 750,000 per year. Not counting physicians who are hospitalists, work part time, or those who have chosen concierge medicine, Southern Nevada is left with 650 primary care specialists to serve patients, according to information from a 2016 University of Nevada School of Medicine Health Policy Report. With 4,263,000 primary care visits demanded in 2014, according to information reported by SMA, 650 primary care physicians can’t meet that demand.

Like many progressive health care organizations throughout the country, Southwest Medical Associates is aggressively recruiting medical professionals to come practice in Southern Nevada.

In addition to hiring recruiters, we participate in trade shows and conferences in Las Vegas and throughout the U.S., and have implemented an extensive marketing campaign within the state and nationwide. Our efforts are working, as we’ve had many quality recruits join us this past year, including physicians, advanced practice clinicians and other specialists.

Greg Griffin is the chief operating officer for Southwest Medical Associates, a part of OptumCare. Griffin is a member of the American Medical Group Association and the Medical Management Group Association.