Hospital space expands in era of fewer doctors
What good are all the beds at Presbyterian’s new tower if there aren’t enough doctors?
Presbyterian Hospital’s new Downtown tower is impressive. It’s shiny. It’s new. It’s enormous. But will those things be enough?
That’s at the heart of a question posed by Journal reader K.K. after the Journal reported that the hospital’s newest tower at its Downtown complex is ready to open its doors.
“What good are these extra beds if there is a shortage of doctors?” K.K. wrote on Feb. 6.
New Mexico’s problems attracting and retaining enough medical doctors to serve its needs are well-documented. In recent months, local doctors have raised fears that the situation will worsen — due in part to high medical malpractice premiums, low Medicaid reimbursements and having to pay gross receipts taxes on medical services.
New Mexico in 2021 had 1,649 primary care physicians, 700 less than the state had in 2017, according to the New Mexico Health Care Workforce Annual Report. The state is 334 primary care physicians below national provider-to-population benchmarks, according to the report.
Presbyterian isn’t immune to those problems, said hospital CEO Dionne Cruz Miller in an email.
“Like the rest of the country, at Presbyterian we are seeing a shortage of clinicians,” Cruz Miller wrote in an email in response to K.K.’s question. “While we are hoping to see the market improve in the coming years, we see this new tower as a tool for recruiting and retaining clinicians. The tower will not only provide better access to safe, quality care, for our patients and members but we’ll create a better environment for our clinicians and employees to provide that care.”
Presbyterian’s greatest need right now is in primary care physicians, Cruz Miller said. Ob/gyns and surgeons are also a major need.
That said, Cruz Miller added, the hospital actually recruited more physicians in 2022 than in 2021.
While the hospital is constantly hiring, Cruz Miller said in the short-term, the hospital is not increasing staffing for the new tower. Instead, existing staff will move into the tower while other areas of the hospital get remodeled.
The hospital is also increasing use of telemedicine, and is participating in an initiative headed up by the state’s Office of Broadband Access Expansion to “increase access to specialty telemedicine in rural communities where broadband issues can limit engagement in telemedicine,” Cruz Miller said.
Cruz Miller said solving the clinician shortage problem will take a multi-pronged approach.
“We’ve appreciated the ongoing support through the Governor and Legislature to build pipelines for physicians and other medical professionals like nurses and medical assistants. This continued focus on programs that provide a strong pipeline of talent is critical. Through private and public sector collaboration, we can grow talent in New Mexico to help fill the clinician shortage gap we’re experiencing today,” Cruz Miller said. “New Mexico has also opened many pathways for advanced practice clinicians to deliver care in more extensive ways than in other states. We’ve appreciated the path paved to help physician assistants and nurse practitioners work at the top of their licensure.”
More broadly, physicians who spoke to the Journal earlier this month said they’re recommending a number of other changes to help solve the problem. Those include:
■ Making improvements to a professional loan repayment program
■ Incentivizing community health centers
■ Improving Medicaid reimbursement
■ Reclassifying outpatient health care facilities to lower liability cap, allowing access to medical malpractice insurance
■ Eliminating gross receipts tax on medical services
■ Requiring timely credentialing by insurance companies and hospitals