How many doctors work in New Mexico? The state’s official count, the one required by law, stopped in 2021.
Its yearly health workforce report came out Oct. 1. For the fourth year running, that count hasn’t been updated.
That didn’t stop the state from rewriting malpractice law. In March, the governor signed a cap on punitive damages, the money a jury can add on top to punish a doctor or hospital. The governor’s office said the law would help attract doctors.
A 2022 hack froze the count
The count comes from surveys doctors fill out when they renew their licenses. After a 2022 ransomware attack at the state Regulation and Licensing Department, the report says, that data hasn’t been available.
So for primary care doctors, OB-GYNs, surgeons and psychiatrists, the report still uses 2021 numbers. Back then, the state needed 334 more primary care doctors to bring every county up to the report’s national benchmark.
The survey before the law
Last December, the Legislature’s budget analysts surveyed doctors. 65% of the New Mexico doctors surveyed said they were considering leaving the state. Most of those named punitive damages. Considering leaving isn’t the same as leaving.
Two other counts went up
Neither is a full count of doctors who work here, and neither tracks who left. Both rose.
The state Medical Board told lawmakers in August how many active medical doctor licenses it has. A license doesn’t mean the doctor works here.
The Ledger also counted doctors with a New Mexico practice address in Medicare’s list of clinicians. That list grows for reasons besides new doctors, so the comparison is what matters: New Mexico grew faster than the country.
Nurses are counted, and short
New Mexico had 17,242 registered nurses last year, still nearly 5,000 short of the report’s benchmark.
A real count may come next year
The report expects doctors’ data back for the 2027 report. That would be the first official test since 2021 of whether New Mexico is gaining doctors or losing them.
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