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Contra Costa Health Services Says Severe Doctor Shortages Do Not Impact Patient Care; Doctors Disagree 
See the latest PDOCC press release below as well as the responses in the news.
See the latest interview by David MacDonald on KRON 4.
Also PDOCC in the Contra Costa Herald:
And the Antioch Herald:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 6, 2023
MEDIA CONTACT
Jacob Hay, jhay@wearerally.com, 310-855-2640
Contra Costa Health Services Says Severe Doctor Shortages Do Not Impact Patient Care; Doctors Disagree
Martinez, CA—Last month the Physicians’ and Dentists Organization of Contra Costa (PDOCC) released data showing a high number of doctor vacancies in Contra Costa County Health Services.
In response a county spokesperson said doctor vacancies do not mean “care is compromised.”
That opinion, however, is not shared by the county’s doctors and dentists or by best practice standards for patient care.
As previously reported, there are currently 83 out of 285 employed positions listed as vacant in Contra Costa Health Services, a 29 percent vacancy rate in the system according to county data. That includes 27 vacant positions in ambulatory care, family medicine and primary care adult medicine.
The severe shortages most certainly impact patient care, including the time a physician can devote to each patient along with the availability of appointments, according to county doctors.
Contra Costa County’s own policies recommend no more than 1,500 patients to a primary care physician’s panel (the number of patients assigned to a physician). Currently the average panel size for Contra Costa’s employed primary care physicians is 1,879.
The problem continues to worsen. Contra Costa County Health Services added 12,200 patients in the last two months, while only adding 1 new primary care physician. The result is that the average primary care physician employed by the county now has almost 200 more patients on their panel than at the end of 2022. There are no new primary care physicians anticipated to join county employment before July 2023.
“County leaders may be willing to turn a blind eye to severe staffing shortages, but doctors care too much about our patients to let the problem go unaddressed any longer,” said Dr. David MacDonald, PDOCC President. “We hear from patients all the time about how difficult it is for them to schedule appointments in our system. When they finally get an appointment it is rarely for the amount of time they need because doctors are overstretched and taking on more patients because of all the vacancies. The patients who rely on Contra Costa County Health Services for care should not have to settle for less time and attention than patients in other systems or ones with private healthcare.”
In addition to the primary care vacancies, there are 5 vacant dentist positions and 5 vacant OB/GYN positions. With 19 vacant psychiatrist positions, only 27 percent of employed psychiatry positions are currently filled. 11 vacant employed positions in the emergency department - half of the department’s employed positions - means the county is unable to safely staff the emergency room.
The problem is expected to get exponentially worse in 2024 when Contra Costa County will need an additional 40 primary care providers to care for 30,000 new Medi-Cal patients being added to the county’s health services due to an agreement between the county and California’s Department of Health Services.
PDOCC is calling on county leaders to be proactive by filling the position vacancies which will improve patient care and support county revenues. “It’s hard to believe that Contra Costa County is not working more closely with our union to help it become more attractive and competitive in retaining and recruiting medical and dental talent. I believe the county is moving in the wrong direction and I’m concerned that patients are being put at risk,” MacDonald said.
PDOCC members are currently in negotiations with county management towards a new contract. Issues raised in negotiations by PDOCC members include high patient caseloads, insufficient time for administrative tasks, long waits for primary care appointments and specialty referrals, chronic short staffing and high turnover – all of which combine to negatively impact patient care and health impacts. PDOCC members also state that burnout is at an all-time high.
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High Number of Doctor Vacancies in Contra Costa County Health Services Impacting Patient Care PDOCC released its first press-release 2/16/2023 about the large number of physician vacancies and the effect on patient care. We were immediately contacted for and interview by CBS. The story was also picked up by other news outlets.
Here is a link to the write-up on the CBS radio website:
Also, we just saw KTVU Fox 2 covered the story today briefly in their noon broadcast. I wouldn't be surprised to see it covered again during their broadcasts later in the day. Here's a link to the story:
Here's a link to the CBS radio story, which is very similar to the Fox 2 story:
Here is a link to a version of the CBS radio story with Nate's interview (he did a great job getting the message across!): https://app.
criticalmention.com/app/#clip/ view/7bb7d602-d750-44e1-89f5- 7473e2978aba?token=235c21f7- 47bc-47f2-b735-9a0c19249c83 Versions of the CBS radio story aired 22-25 times between February 17-20, which is great because it's the Bay's highest rated news station.
KRON 4 included our news in a story that also covered a congressional hearing on healthcare worker shortages: https://app.
criticalmention.com/app/#clip/ view/f8c66974-bc38-4ef3-adac- 43dd7f284888?token=235c21f7- 47bc-47f2-b735-9a0c19249c83. Our press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 16, 2023
MEDIA CONTACT
Jacob Hay, jhay@wearerally.com, 310-855-2640
High Number of Doctor Vacancies in Contra Costa County Health Services Impacting Patient Care
Severe staffing shortages a worrying trend ahead of 30,000 new Medi-Cal patients being added to Contra Costa County Health Services in 2024
Martinez, CA—A high number of doctor vacancies in Contra Costa County Health Services is negatively impacting patient care, and is expected to get much worse in the next year, according to the Physicians’ and Dentists’ Organization of Contra Costa (PDOCC).
Based on county data, there are currently 83 out of 285 employed positions listed as vacant in Contra Costa Health Services, a 29 percent vacancy rate in the system. That includes 27 vacant positions in family medicine and primary care adult medicine, 5 vacant dentist positions and 5 vacant OB/GYN positions. With 19 vacant psychiatrist positions, only 27 percent of employed psychiatry positions are currently filled. 11 vacant employed positions in the emergency department - half of the department’s employed positions - means the county is unable to safely staff the emergency room.
Since November, 5 emergency department doctors have left county employment. The county interviewed and offered positions to 21 new emergency department applicants, but the offer was declined by every applicant.
The problem is expected to get a lot worse in 2024 when Contra Costa County will need an additional 40 primary care providers to care for 30,000 new Medi-Cal patients being added to the county’s health services due to an agreement between the county and California’s Department of Health Services.
On average, the county has only been able to fill three primary care doctor vacancies annually over the last three years.
“The shortage of employed physicians in the county health system impacts patient care and creates a serious public health concern,” said Dr. David MacDonald, PDOCC President. “Over the last three years, Contra Costa’s frontline doctors, dentists, optometrists and other healthcare heroes worked tirelessly to keep our communities healthy and safe. With the County’s inaction, we see worsening morale among our physicians and dentists, high turnover rates, and an inability to recruit the talented medical and dental professionals we need for a thriving public health system. Contra Costa County leaders need to act now to ensure that we have a sufficient number of employed physicians and dentists to take care of the communities that we are dedicated to serve.”
PDOCC is calling on county leaders to be proactive by filling the position vacancies which will improve patient care and support county revenues.
PDOCC members are currently in negotiations with county management towards a new contract. Issues raised in negotiations by PDOCC members include high patient caseloads, insufficient time for administrative tasks, long waits for primary care appointments and specialty referrals, chronic short staffing and high turnover – all of which combine to negatively impact patient care and health impacts.
Contra Costa County Physicians Vote to Authorize Strike 99.4% of Physicians' and Dentists' Organization of Contra Costa (PDOCC) support calling a strike if county management continues to negotiate in bad faith on working conditions that impact public health stability and harm patient care. PausedWho we are • PDOCC is a locally run, independent union representing the physicians and dentists who work for Contra Costa Health Services. Our members work in the county hospital in Martinez as well as in 11 outpatient clinics spread throughout the county •We provide high quality healthcare to low-income patients in our county.
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