8 News Now recently reported that the number of medical doctors’ licenses in Nevada has rapidly increased compared to last year. Nearly 40% of those doctors are living out of state.
As of July, there were 16,760 MDs in Nevada. Over 6,500 of those call a place outside the Silver State their home. Edward Cousineau, The Executive Director of Nevada’s Medical Examiners Board, said most of that number is due to an agreement between certain states called the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact.
“It’s approximately a 30-state compact, which basically greatly expedites the licensing process for medical doctors who choose to use the compact,” Cousineau said.
As for the reason the compact is popular among doctors, Cousineau said, “I think a lot of these individuals that are coming to these compact states, including Nevada, are doing so because of their desire to practice by telemedicine.”
Telemedicine became increasingly popular during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the practice continuing today.
If someone is sick here in Nevada, their doctor can be practicing from anywhere else in the country or even the entire world, assuming they’ve got access to the proper equipment, and a Nevada license.
Cousineau said there are dozens of doctors practicing from outside the country with some in Australia, England and Israel. Another reason for doctors doing telemedicine is similar pay rates to in-person practice.
Cousineau also explained that the number of licenses issued for other medical professionals like physician’s assistants has increased as well. He expects the trend to continue throughout the year.