A new study shows a glaring gap between the number of California doctors of color compared with the state's ethnically diverse population. For example, The University of California- San Francisco study found that out of nearly 62,000 practicing doctors in California, only 5% are Latino even though Latinos comprise a third of the state's total population. The disparity is alarming because minority physicians are far more likely to practice primary care medicine and work with poor or uninsured patients in communities with a chronic shortage of physicians.
People with health insurance are having more trouble paying for prescription drugs due to higher out-of-pocket costs for medications and a slowing economy, according to surveys and healthcare analysts. The Virginia-based National Patient Advocate Foundationfound that 31% of the 44,729 people it aided last year cited drug co-payments as their top medical-debt problem.
The Sun Valley Health Clinic has opened on the grounds of a local middle school in Sun Valley, located in the northern tip of Los Angeles. Officials hope that by placing a full-service community clinic on a school campus, it creates a convenient location for families to get regular health services. Proponents are hailing the facility as a turning point for the district of 84,000 mostly working-class Latino residents, where one-third of the population is uninsured.
The Catholic ownership of the 410-bed St. Francis Hospital & Health Center in Blue Island, IL, said it will shutter the hospital because nobody would buy it. The development underscores the plight of non-profit hospitals struggling with the increase in uninsured patients--St. Francis was saddled with tens of millions of dollars in losses from the uninsured. The closing will force Blue Island residents to travel further from home and potentially stress other facilities with an influx of thousands of patients, many who are uninsured and of limited means.
A $2.13 million telemedicine project links hospitals in Ethiopia with the Hyderabad-based Care Group of Hospitals, India's leading cardiac institute. The project is part of the joint initiative between the African Union and India which was launched in Ethiopia last year to improve Internet links and communication. There is just one doctor for every 37,000 people in Ethiopia, and the project aims to alleviate some of the country's healthcare burdens.
Birmingham-based Medical Properties Trust has completed a $138 million deal for seven hospitals from HCP Inc. With the completed transaction, Medical Properties Trust now has hospitals in Cleveland and Webster, TX; Cheraw and Bennettsville, SC; Bossier City, LA; Idaho Falls, ID; and Tucson, AZ.