When it comes to solving health care issues on the Texas-Mexico border, collaboration is key, according to the physicians, local leaders, and lawmakers who demonstrated just that at the Texas Medical Association’s Border Health Conference.
Hector Ocaranza, MD, local health authority for El Paso, names access to health care as a top obstacle facing the border community, and teamwork as a top solution.
“We continue to face that challenge, and we need to continue working collaboratively with our legislators and see what are the ways we’re going to be able to provide access to care in different ways,” the El Paso pediatrician said.
Texas Rep. Vince Perez (D-El Paso) is prioritizing those collaborations as well, particular seeking opportunities to increase the number of physicians in the border region. That area has 59 primary care physicians per 100,000 people compared with about 81 in the rest of the state, according to the latest DSHS data available.
“Our doctors and everybody in health care do a phenomenal job, but the math is just unforgiving,” Representative Perez said. “There’s just too much need and too few physicians.”
The region presents no shortage of concerns, as TMA’s 20th annual Border Health Conference addressed, including the need to counter disproportionate illness rates.
For example, the type 2 diabetes contraction rate in Texas border counties is 15.5% in comparison to the state’s rate of 10.8%, according to Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) data.
Augmented intelligence (AI) may be one of the tools physicians and local health authorities could use to bring that rate down.
In his discussion on the use of the technology, El Paso infectious disease physician Ogechika Alozie, MD, referenced a recent study in which an AI model detected individuals who are prediabetic through users’ health data captured on smart watches.
The past chair and current consultant to TMA’s Committee on Health Information Technology and AI highlighted real-life examples of how he utilizes the technology and praised its potential. He says innovations ranging from transcribing services to physician-specific learning language models can help with diagnoses and efficiency, both of which can improve patient care.
“That’s the power to start to change the way we practice,” Dr. Alozie said. “But don’t be overly reliant on [AI]. It’s a tool. At the end of the day, you’re still the physician. You have to make the decisions.”
He notes studies such as the one analyzing prediabetic detection frequently come about as physicians, health departments, and the private sector signal a need for them – emphasizing the partnerships that must be fostered between health care stakeholders.
Whether collaborating on research or legislation, the initiatives health leaders are using on the border will likely have ripple effects on the rest of the state, says TMA President Jayesh “Jay” Shah, MD.
“The border is not a side issue – it is central to Texas’ future,” he said in remarks at the conference. “Border health is Texas health.”