Colorado’s low-income patients can’t find specialty health care, study shows – By Michael Booth (Colorado Sun) / Aug 3 2021
A 3-year study shows safety net clinics can find specialists for their patients if they work extremely hard, but systemic change is needed to make real cuts to wait lists
Longmont’s Hopelight Medical Clinic handles all the usual primary care ailments that low-income and uninsured patients bring to a safety net health practice: strep throat, stitches, dental cavities, anxiety.
Hopelight also regularly sees an urgent need to address much bigger problems, including one patient’s schizophrenia. But referrals and appointments for specialty care such as cardiology or geriatrics can be nearly impossible to line up for low-income patients. The specialists often don’t sign up to take Medicaid. Spots for charity care are extremely limited and far between, if offered at all.
A systemic solution would be nice. Pending that, Hopelight has benefited from a clinic 100 miles away, whose leaders said during a networking meeting, “We know a guy.”
Summit Community Care Clinic in Frisco, another safety net provider, had found a nurse practitioner specializing in psychiatric care to handle its cases involving mental health prescriptions and treatment. Try him, Summit told Hopelight.
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