April 09, 2007
Treating the Poor: A Gap in Doctor Training
From LaTimes.com:
A FEW WEEKS back, a 48-year-old man arrived at a local free clinic where I sometimes work. He'd lost his health insurance two years ago and recently enrolled in Medi-Cal, the state health insurance program for the poor. Now he receives care for his diabetes, high blood pressure, heart failure and depression at our clinic, primarily staffed by resident physicians like me.
"Every time I come here, I meet a new doctor. Don't make me tell you everything about me all over again," he said. But the rotating staff wasn't his main concern. After his last visit, he hadn't been able to get all his medicine. Medi-Cal caps the number of prescriptions that can be filled at six per month, so he got only a portion of the drugs he needed.
Read the entire article over at LaTimes.com.