Submitted by Bruce Peters, DO FAAP, FACOP, Dec 7, 2007 09:48

I would love to see what type of practices they looked at and whether or not they looked at primary care physicians who practice full time in under-served communities. I have been practicing in under-served communities in urban areas for over 20 years and love every moment of it. Patients provide a great resource of knowledge, training opportunities for medical students and other health professionals, and when you get them involved in reseach or clinical trials contribute vastly to medical knowledge for everyone. Although medicaid reimbursement may not be all that great, but with the right patient mix can make for a very rewarding and challenging practice. In summary I think studies like this should present both sides including the benefits patients with limited resources provide to hospitals and other institutions, researchers and grant writers, and anyone who solicits funds from public and private entities. This is not to let Medicaid and other carriers off the hook because they should be doing a lot more than what they are doing as well. Somehow we need to all come togehter to find resources to benefi everyone being that we are the richest nation in the world!

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