LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Many of you have trouble getting a doctors appointment.
In fact, some Nevadans say they resort to urgent care or the emergency room just to get in front of a doctor in the valley.
For months, Rachelle Hodges sat in front of her computer looking for a primary care doctor. Every time she thought she found one, she learned she couldn’t get into their office for two months.
It’s a common frustration for many Southern Nevadans.
“I honestly thought being such a big metropolis or metropolitan area that there would be more options but it almost seems like there’s not enough doctors to account for the population,” Hodges explained.
She’s right.
According to the American Association of Medical Colleges data, Nevada ranks 48 in the country for primary care doctors with close to 7,500 licensed physicians. Why?
Dr. Marc Kahn, Dean of the Kirk Kerkorian Medical School, points to a number of reasons. One of them is the lack of federally funded residency positions.
Once a doctor graduates from medical school, they have to complete a residency program. Dr. Kahn said there’s only 400 spots in Nevada while California has more than 9,000
“We’ve had an explosion of population since the number of residency positions were frozen in 1996,” Dr. Kahn continued. “So we’ve had the same number of training positions, yet our population has gone up more than 10 fold.”
He added it’s not easy to bring doctors to the state because insurance rates are low and the licensure process is cumbersome.
“I came to this state almost 5 years ago and it took me over 7 months to get a license with a clean application,” Dr. Kahn remembered. “In my case, you send the information asked for and there’s requests for additional information that doesn’t make sense that wasn’t asked for upfront and then there’s lost documents. There’s misplaced documents.”
Plus, Dr. Kahn said Nevada is one of the few states that does not have an any willing provider law. That keeps an insurance company from denying a doctor who meets the criteria from joining their team.
“So an insurance company could say, ‘We only want two cardiologists.’ When they’re full, ‘That’s all that we have.’ That’s not legal in most states but it is legal here,” he said.
The shortage has caused people like Hodges to turn to the community for doctor recommendations.
“It’s almost a full time job to find the right fit,” she said.
After months of searching, she finally landed an appointment.
“I kept getting, ‘We’re not taking new patients,’ ‘We’re not taking new tri-care patients.’ ‘We’re only taking Medicare patients.’ And finally I was able to get into one that is okay for now,” she said.
Once she got in, she said she can feel doctors need to see other patients.
“Very much feeling rushed at most appointments,” she said.
It’s another side effect of the doctor shortage many Southern Nevadans experience. But how can it improve? Dr. Kahn points to two ways.
“One is you essentially import them and two you grow your own,” he said.
The American Association of Medical Colleges data shows about 40 percent of students who graduate from medical school in Nevada stay in the state.
“If they complete a residency program, they have a 60 percent chance of practicing in state. If they do both, it’s about 80 percent. So the real secret is we need residency programs,” Dr. Kahn said. “The dean at UNR’s medical school and I have met with the Governor. We’ve been meeting with elected officials and we’re working to convince the state that it would be a good idea for them to contribute money to increase the number of residency positions we have to, in turn, increase the number of physicians we have practicing here.”
Dr. Kahn said UNLV’s medical school is about to graduate its 5th class and is continuing to grow its residency programs.
“We have a lot to do, a lot of work to do,” he said.
Work Dr. Kahn is optimistic will help people like Hodges to get the right care down the road. But for now, Hodges will take what she can get.
“I try to stick as long as I can when I do find somebody I try to stick with them as long as I can until it’s no longer beneficial for my health,” Hodges said. “I’ve actually had a few diagnoses since I’ve gotten here so it’s difficult to marry up what I want to happen with what the doctors will help me with.”
Dr. Kahn adds there’s no harm in finding a new doctor if you don’t mesh with one. He recommends going to your first appointment with a pad of paper with questions and room to take notes. Be persistent and patient in your search.
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