166925 Economics, politics, and patient care: Who is really being hurt?"

Monday, November 5, 2007: 5:10 PM

Simon Piller, MD , Cook County Bureau of Health Services, Chicago, IL
Dr. Simon Piller, a primary care physician at the Cook County Bureau of Health Services, Ambulatory and Community Health Network, will consider the implications of the impending closure of a large number of the clinics in the Cook County system. Cook County hospitals and clinics have excelled in providing health care regardless of ability to pay, yet they are now being dismantled. Patients are losing long term care, doctors are laid off, the Trauma Unit is endangered, and many clinics are shut down. Provision for displaced patients' care is largely un-addressed. Yet more draconian Medicaid cuts are planned. As the Iraq war rages on, Chicago's public housing is dismantled and schools are restructured and cut back. We will consider options to answer the question "Where do we go from here?"

Learning Objectives:
Describe the effects of these reductions on the Health System’s services. Describe the effects of the service reductions on Cook County’s underserved population. Discuss options for action for providers, workers, and patients of the Health System.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.