MAGNET FOR MEDICINE
“THE EXPANSION OF NORTH
TEXAS AND THE GROWTH
POTENTIAL IS BIG.”
advanced imaging MRI and CT scans in our offices. We
didn’t have to jump through hoops to do so, because
we are accredited by national bodies and our images
are read by radiologists. In Texas, we were not required
to obtain a certificate of need like some states require.
Texas is a business-friendly state and that extends to
medical care, also.”
and Tort Reform Act of 2003, House Bill 4, went into
effect Sept. 1 that year. Twelve days later, Texas voters
approved Proposition 12, an amendment to the Texas
Constitution that validated the legislature's actions. HB
4 caps noneconomic damages in health care liability
cases. Texas' $750,000 total cap includes a $250,000
limit on physician exposure for noneconomic damages
such as pain and suffering. The tort reform act doesn't
restrict economic damages.
Love, of the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council, sees
the willing organization of healthcare providers – even
those who compete against one another daily for market
share – as a positive sign. The DFW Hospital Council,
with its 90 member hospitals and 85 associate member
trade organizations that has been in existence almost 50
years, is the only organization of its kind in the state.
Ready availability of other top-notch medical experts
also makes it satisfying to work in North Texas, Dr.
Gaman says. “Here in
the North Texas area, you
can get the best medical
care anywhere in the
world within a matter
of minutes. If you’re a
physician, you can pick up
the phone and have your
patient see a cardiologist
within minutes. If you
send them to an ER, you
know they will get care
quickly. These specialists
will be using an evidence-
based treatment that is
best in the world.”
Dr. Walter Gaman, Healthcare Associates of Texas
Dr. Carrie de Moor, an emergency medicine physician
and founder and CEO of Code 3 ER & Urgent Care,
stresses the importance of medical malpractice tort
reform as one of the reasons that physicians consider
practicing in the state.
“Medical society leadership here is very strong for
independent practice, and there is good tort reform.
You can practice good medicine without having to worry
about excessive regulation and fears of being sued,” she
said. “We see people flooding here from places like New
York that are much more litigious places to practice.
The cost of living and all those things combined make
it a great place to come practice and raise a family.
It’s sustainable.”
In 2003, the Texas Medical Association, the Texas
Alliance For Patient Access, the Texas Medical Liability
Trust, the Texas Hospital Association, physicians and
medical students banded together to pass landmark
medical liability reforms. The Medical Malpractice
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SUMMER 2018
“The fact that we have a
hospital council speaks
volumes. The hospitals
come here, even though
they compete with each
other, to talk about how
we can do even better to
influence medical and
clinical outcomes,” Love
said. “They discuss what
they can do to improve
patient safety so that we
know we’re doing the best
we can for the patient, and
they share best practices
so that we’re doing our
best for the community. That in and of itself tells us how
committed the hospitals are here.”
Dr. Philip L. Wilson, assistant chief of staff and a pediatric
orthopedic surgeon at the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital’s
Center for Excellence in Sports Medicine in Plano, notes
the potential he sees in the North Texas medical industry.
“We’ve got a pretty active healthcare community and
it’s been a growing community, as opposed to some of
the older centers that have been more saturated with
healthcare over time,” he said. “The expansion of North
Texas and the growth potential is big. The institutions
involved are stepping up to say that, very quickly, we’re
going to be at the top of what we are offering nationally –
in patient potential, growth curve, facilities, everything.”
With its central location, mild weather and low
cost of living, North Texas is just as attractive
to physicians as it is to the patients they’ll be
treating here.
NTX PHYSICIAN STATS
In 2016, there were 953,695 actively licensed physicians in the U.S. serving a
national population of 323 million people. (Source: the Federation of State Medical
Boards (FSMB) from its biennial census, current through end of 2016.)
TOTAL (MDS AND DOS)
IN 13-COUNTY NORTH
TEXAS REGION
17,431
TOTAL (MDS AND DOS)
IN TEXAS
77,034
DENTON COUNTY 921 PARKER COUNTY 122 DALLAS COUNTY
KAUFMAN COUNTY 81 COLLIN COUNTY HUNT COUNTY
2,230 95
WISE COUNTY 77 ELLIS COUNTY JOHNSON COUNTY
HOOD COUNTY 89 SOMERVELL COUNTY ROCKWALL COUNTY TARRANT COUNTY
142
157
8,927
208
11
4,371
MD doesn’t stand
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469-276-3628
HealthcareAssociates.com
6161 Highway 161, Irving, Texas, 75063
SUMMER 2018
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