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In response to Dr Alpert's¹ commentary, "Medical Refugees in America," I would like to comment. I agree with the author that our health care system is becoming more fragmented and unworkable as time goes on. Unfortunately, Dr Alpert seems locked into the typical physician mentality that views all the problems with health care delivery as originating "out there," that is, being caused by someone else, usually the government or the insurance industry.

His first 2 examples of health maintenance organization (HMO) patients who could not get appointments to be seen by their primary care physicians are blamed on the HMO. Wait a minute! Don't the physicians in these cases have a responsibility to see patients assigned to them, especially when they are ill? Are these practitioners possibly guilty of the same mendacity with which the HMOs are charged? Could it be that the physicians in question are too busy seeing . . . [Full Text of this Article]

RELATED ARTICLE

Medical Refugees in America
Joseph S. Alpert
Arch Intern Med. 2000;160(4):417-418.
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