California Medical Schools Address Underserved Groups
A program at the University of California aims to train doctors who will treat patients in underserved populations, the Sacramento Bee reports. Under the effort:
- UC-Irvine in 2004 began training more Spanish-speaking doctors;
- UC-San Francisco is developing a pilot program for doctors who want to treat the homeless, runway teens, low-income workers and other underserved urban residents;
- UC-San Diego will focus on racial and ethnic health disparities; and
- UC-Davis will focus on rural populations.
For example, UC-Davis Medical School could add 10 to 12 slots in its residency program in 2007. Currently, the medical school admits 93 residents annually.
Cathryn Nation, executive director of academic health sciences for the UC system, said she is examining whether the system could receive Medicare funding for the programs (Dahlberg, Sacramento Bee, 6/14). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.