Unreal. This is a little slice of what people away from Walter Reed are facing.
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/03/like_the_washin.htmlMilitary MD Shortage at Home
Like the Washington Post says in today's story, "It is just not Walter Reed." There are deep, deep problems, throughout the military medical system. And it's going to take a long time to get to the bottom of them.
But here's a glaringly obvious one, to start:
there just aren't enough military doctors to go around. So many MDs have been deployed to war zones that coverage back home -- for military family members, retirees, and garrisoned troops -- has been spread awfully thin. I spoke to one Army doctor the other day - a chief of family practice at a good-sized facility. Let's call him Dr. Jonah. He oversees about a dozen doctors, each with at least 21 patients per day.
Which sounds like a lot - until you consider that he's got a patient base of over 18,000. Which means that diabetics or hypertensives -- who should be seen at least four times annually-- are only seen once a year. "There are women who haven't gotten pap smears in years, who go without mammograms for years," Dr. Jonah says. "The people that the government promised would take care of their health care are not getting nearly the coverage they need," he sighs.
The problem is that Dr. Jonah is the only military doctor at his facility; the rest are overseas. The administration has filled in, by hiring civilian docs -- but only on the cheap. These doctors are getting $50,000-$150,000 less than they would at a civilian hospital. "And you get what you pay for," Dr. Jonah says.
A military medical commission came to his facility not long ago, interviewed everyone in sight, and made some recommendations. Not much has changed, though. Well, except the facility is taking out new ads for doctors, in the local newspaper.
UPDATE: Time is arguing that the "wrong general" was fired. Instead of canning Walter Reed head honcho Maj. Gen. George Weightman, the Army should be kicking surgeon general Kevin Kiley to the curb. He's the former Walter Reed big who lived right by some of the worst facilities, and yet was dissing the Washington Post exposes, until recently. Oh, and by the way, Kiley covered up detainee abuse, too.
UPDATE 2: Kiley's statement to the House Oversight Committee -- as well as those of the GAO's health care chief and a former Walter Reed patient -- are now online.
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