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City hearing addresses health care disparities
Issue date: 4/30/09
The Baltimore City Health Department held a public hearing last week to address the shortage of primary health care in Baltimore.
The event, held at the Bloomberg School of Public Health on April 21, was in response to a report compiled by the RAND Health Corporation which indicated that the number of preventable hospitalizations in Baltimore city is significantly higher than in Washington D.C. and other areas of Maryland. The report linked the number of hospitalizations with the efficacy of available primary health care.
According to Jennifer Monti, Special Assistant to the Health Commissioner, the Baltimore primary care shortage has been longstanding. The RAND Corporation was commissioned to study Baltimore's health care system in order to quantify the shortage.
According to Monti, there is a shortage of about 150,000 primary care visits per year in Baltimore. However this shortage does not correspond with a shortage of doctors.
Jonathan Weiner, professor of Health Policy and Management at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, explained that Maryland is among the states with the highest number of doctors.
"We have enough doctors," Weiner said. "The problem is that they are not in the right place doing the right thing. There are many doctors involved in government and academia, and too few [involved] in primary care."
Hearing attendees included three representatives from the state, including the Secretary of Health, and about 85 physicians, health center representatives and students.
"The idea of the hearing was to get enough information on the public record," Monti said. "The information can then be used by legislators to make policies to address the shortage."
The main issues discussed at the hearing were the reasons for the gap in primary care access in Baltimore, the consequences of this gap and specific programs and policies that could be enacted to close it.
Monti explained that the shortage of primary care is a result of the decision by most doctors in Baltimore to specialize.
The event, held at the Bloomberg School of Public Health on April 21, was in response to a report compiled by the RAND Health Corporation which indicated that the number of preventable hospitalizations in Baltimore city is significantly higher than in Washington D.C. and other areas of Maryland. The report linked the number of hospitalizations with the efficacy of available primary health care.
According to Jennifer Monti, Special Assistant to the Health Commissioner, the Baltimore primary care shortage has been longstanding. The RAND Corporation was commissioned to study Baltimore's health care system in order to quantify the shortage.
According to Monti, there is a shortage of about 150,000 primary care visits per year in Baltimore. However this shortage does not correspond with a shortage of doctors.
Jonathan Weiner, professor of Health Policy and Management at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, explained that Maryland is among the states with the highest number of doctors.
"We have enough doctors," Weiner said. "The problem is that they are not in the right place doing the right thing. There are many doctors involved in government and academia, and too few [involved] in primary care."
Hearing attendees included three representatives from the state, including the Secretary of Health, and about 85 physicians, health center representatives and students.
"The idea of the hearing was to get enough information on the public record," Monti said. "The information can then be used by legislators to make policies to address the shortage."
The main issues discussed at the hearing were the reasons for the gap in primary care access in Baltimore, the consequences of this gap and specific programs and policies that could be enacted to close it.
Monti explained that the shortage of primary care is a result of the decision by most doctors in Baltimore to specialize.
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Baltimore Movers
posted 7/17/09 @ 2:26 PM EST
It's really unfortunate that there is a shortage of primary care doctors. A shortage of 150,000 visits per year is a very significant problem.
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