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Medical board faces rising complaints and seeks legal staff to speed investigations
Summary
The New Mexico Medical Board told the Appropriations subcommittee that public complaints have risen and case complexity has increased; the board requested an additional attorney and more contractual legal support to reduce investigation timelines and support impaired‑physician services.
The New Mexico Medical Board presented data showing an increase in public complaints and a caseload that can take from three months up to a year to resolve. Monique Parks, interim director for the board, described efforts to emphasize rehabilitation through a health and wellness program for impaired or struggling licensees: “Our board very much believes in rehabilitation, and... they do go to the health and wellness program.”
LFC materials reviewed at the hearing show the board is fee‑funded and carried a fund balance projected around $2.8 million at the end of FY25. The board asked for an additional attorney and authorization to use fund balance for contractual legal services and the impaired‑physician program to accelerate investigations and legal reviews.
Analysts and board staff said the increase in complaints is at least partly driven by public awareness of the board’s complaint portal. Parks said the board has a $50,000 grant for a data analytics project to track complaint disposition and case timelines, and LFC said it will publish survey results on physician practice location soon to better estimate how many licensees actually practice in‑state.
The subcommittee adopted the LFC recommendation for the Medical Board’s recurring budget and asked for follow‑up data on complaint disposition and outcome measures.
