Doctors to decide whether to leave

Monday, March 3, 2003 | 11:33 a.m.

Doctors at a Henderson OB/GYN clinic will meet today to decide whether increases in malpractice insurance premiums will cause them to leave Southern Nevada.

Reports that two of the Deseret Women's Clinic's three doctors will leave by March 20 caused the clinic to be bombarded with calls this morning from concerned patients, said a woman employee at the clinic at 98 E. Lake Mead Drive.

The clinic's partners received their premium notices Friday and have not yet decided what they will do, she said, noting a meeting to discuss their options is slated for today.

Attempts to reach a doctor at the clinic this morning were unsuccessful.

"This is an on-going tragedy in Clark County," said Dr. John Nowins, president of the Clark County OB/GYN Society. "On average, we have lost one or two doctors per month since November 2000.

"They are either retiring or leaving because malpractice insurance premiums are just too high."

A state legislative report released last week contradicted some of the medical groups' claims that there is an ongoing exodus of doctors. It noted that more than 300 new licenses were issued last year for physicians. It also found that only 35 doctors, including six obstetricians, shut their offices in Nevada in 2002, and some of those doctors are still working in in the state.