Texas Emergency Care Physician Shortage Leaves Healthcare Providers Scrambling

FRISCO, Texas, Oct. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The current emergency care physician shortage in Texas is leaving healthcare providers such as Legacy ER & Urgent Care in a pinch for board-certified talent, and is leading them to search nationwide to fill demand.

Dr. Kirk Mahon, medical director of Frisco, Texas-based Legacy ER & Urgent Care, says the problem stems from significant population growth in Texas, and is exacerbated by the state not producing enough board-certified ER docs annually to meet the growing need.

"Texas produces high-quality emergency physicians, but this has simply become a numbers game," said Dr. Mahon. "Our area needs more board-certified, residency trained ER docs to serve our communities, otherwise patients may experience longer wait times and lower quality of care—which is unacceptable at Legacy ER & Urgent Care."

Further illustrating the problem, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) recently ranked Texas 38th in the nation with a grade of D+ in its annual "America's Emergency Care Environment: A State-by-State Report Card"—much of which was due to poor access to ER care in Texas.

Dr. Mahon, who operates and staffs two healthcare facilities in North Texas, says that until the state's supply catches up with demand, emergency care providers in Texas either have to become more efficient or they have to recruit nationally. He's doing both.

"We're remaining proactive," said Dr. Mahon. "In addition to our national recruiting, we've developed a unique healthcare model that centralizes everything from paperwork, to labs, to X-Rays and CT scans to provide a quick, efficient and accurate experience for our patients. This approach also provides less stress on our doctors and staff."

About Legacy ER & Urgent Care
Legacy ER & Urgent Care (LER) is one of the nation's first flexible healthcare models to offer both urgent care and emergency room treatment options at one location. With board-certified doctors directly tending to patients, LER's goal is to combine quality medical care, minimal wait times and higher cost-savings over hospital-based ERs and standard urgent care facilities. LER has two locations in Frisco and Allen, Texas that serve the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. For more information, visit www.legacyer.com.

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SOURCE Legacy ER & Urgent Care

Related Links

http://www.legacyer.com