Texas' physician population has been increasing at a record pace for the past decade, according to new data from the Texas Medical Association.
The state added 4,869 newly licensed physicians in 2019, up 7.9 percent from the year prior. Texas' current physician workforce translates to a ratio of 190 physicians for every 100,000 Texas residents — a ratio that has grown every year since 2009, according to NBC affiliate KXAN.
The Texas Medical Association credits this growth to medical liability reform laws that passed in 2003 to better protect physicians and hospitals from lawsuits.
"I think if you look at the statistics since the reforms were enacted, they really show a tremendous increase in the number of physicians coming to Texas, but not only that, the overall rates of physician growth has been higher than the rate of population growth," Stanley Wang, MD, a cardiologist and sleep medicine specialist at the cardiology practice Austin Heart, told KXAN.