Too few doctors for a growing Texas population

There is no quick fix for the state's shortage of doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers, a legislative panel meeting in Houston was told Tuesday. Mike Ragain, chairman of the Texas Statewide Health Coordinating Council and chief medical officer of Texas Tech medical school's primary teaching hospital in Lubbock, noted that the problem is most prevalent along the border, where there are 51 doctors for every 100,000 residents, and in rural areas, where there are 91 doctors for every 100,000 residents. Statewide, there are 205 doctors per 100,000 residents, compared with a national average of 259, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.