tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186587935097536129.post6238741188583376454..comments2023-04-01T06:34:38.141-05:00Comments on Hyde Park Progress: The University of Chicago's Health Care Desertification Projectchicago pophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17055796523227869734noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186587935097536129.post-31979315364598878052009-03-14T15:36:00.000-05:002009-03-14T15:36:00.000-05:00If you're interested in reading more news coverage...If you're interested in reading more news coverage about healthcare clinics and the Med Center's emergency care policy, these links are a fairly thorough collection:<BR/><BR/>http://philosophicdifference.wordpress.com/2009/03/14/u-of-c-med-center/<BR/>http://philosophicdifference.wordpress.com/2009/03/14/u-of-c-med-center-2/<BR/>http://philosophicdifference.wordpress.com/2009/03/14/u-of-c-med-center-3/beckettwshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17770614256438716704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186587935097536129.post-14806002505349351082009-02-21T20:56:00.000-06:002009-02-21T20:56:00.000-06:00Yes, I've gone to Hyde Park Associates in Medicine...Yes, I've gone to Hyde Park Associates in Medicine for a long time-- specifically to avoid a U of C practice. They've just sold their practice to Advocate, but will continue with the same docs and staff.--don't know what will change administratively. I've been to several of the docs there, and I like them. This is the practice from which Dr. Quentin Young recently retired. If you pay for visits out of pocket (I have very high deductible insurance) their prices are reasonable.susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03010924159038600405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186587935097536129.post-47071873649027018412009-02-21T14:12:00.000-06:002009-02-21T14:12:00.000-06:00Anyone have experience with Hyde Park Associates i...Anyone have experience with Hyde Park Associates in Medicine? It's on 52nd Place near Lake Park, I believe. I've never been there, but was just talking with someone who turns out to be a physician there. Was surprised to learn of a clinic that isn't affiliated with UofC. I know they take BC/BS (Maroon Plan)...not sure about other insurances.Yaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08795276208813221120noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186587935097536129.post-5167468140793496892009-02-20T10:39:00.000-06:002009-02-20T10:39:00.000-06:00It isn't surprising that such a high percentage of...It isn't surprising that such a high percentage of Rochester residents have coverage; it's a company town. Rochester is probably a pretty good place to live, other than the weather. Think Chicago is cold in the winter?<BR/><BR/>One reason Mayo doesn't need to deal a lot in general care or outreach: it's a go-to place. It's almost a cliche that people "go to Mayo" for sprecialty medicine. Unlike U of C Hospitals, I'd guess that Mayo has hotels galore almost next door. But then, Rochester probably isn't populated by harrummphing old 39th Precinct-style NIMBYs.Richard Gillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02773215580457414540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186587935097536129.post-3180139412569872922009-02-19T10:34:00.000-06:002009-02-19T10:34:00.000-06:00Even though I generally agree that medical provide...Even though I generally agree that medical providers will "follow the money" (which, by the way, is exactly what UCMC is trying to do by concentrating on high-margin, high-tech procedures/treatments by specialists), I'm less confident that primary care providers will be flocking to Hyde Park for a number of reasons, including those CPop pointed out in his comment. The sheer population and income numbers in Hyde Park vs. Rochester MN make a pretty clear argument.<BR/><BR/>According to the Rochester MN site, 95% of the town's population are covered by health insurance. I have no idea what Hyde Park's numbers are, but I'll bet my bonus it's less than 95%. And as you can imagine, whatever the Hyde Park number is, it will surely be considerably lower when you expand the geographic reach to include the surrounding south side neighborhoods. Keep in mind that nationally, approximately 85% of the American population is covered through private and public insurance, leaving 15% uninsured. So, Rochester's 5% of uninsured is *significantly* lower than the national number. And, it's almost certainly higher than the national numbers in Chicago.<BR/><BR/>One data point from 2002: The number of people in Illinois without health insurance is up for the second year in a row, to 15.9 percent, says a new report by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In Chicago, the proportion is much higher, 22.7 percent. (Sun-Times, 2/4/2002). <BR/><BR/>Because primary care, in general, is less generously reimbursed than specialties, volume becomes the name of the game for any PC practice. So, if you're a primary care practitioner in Chicago, you will probably follow the money and volume straight to the north side.<BR/><BR/>Further, Mayo doesn't have to worry about losing its well-insured primary care patients to other practices. There seem to be two major primary care practices in the town, and it's unlikely that any significant proportion of patients are being siphoned off to another PC practice two towns over. In other words, Mayo participates in a primary care oligopoly in Rochester.<BR/><BR/>On the other hand, based on earlier comments on previous posts, there are certainly a proportion of Hyde Park residents who have simply decided to receive their primary care on the north side (including myself). Considering the number of private PC practices in Chicago, the competitive landscape doesn't come anywhere near an oligopoly. So, any PC provider in Hyde Park (whether it's UC or another entity) is hit with a double-whammy where the well-insured patients are constantly siphoned off to the north side, and only a large pool of un- or underinsured patients who need community outreach to take their place. Conversely, Mayo benefits from its location where there is little need for outreach -- not surprising when 95% of the town's population is insured -- and all those well-insured patients are extremely unlikely to migrate beyond the town borders.<BR/><BR/>To be clear, I'm not at all dissing Mayo's quality of care. Just because Rochester residents don't have too much choice in PC providers doesn't mean they aren't happy with what they're getting from Mayo or its primary competitor. Based on what I know of Mayo through friends and family who have been patients or trained there, I actually think it's one of the best-run, highest-quality medical providers. My own anecdotal sense is consistent with the findings from the 2008 Dartmouth Atlas report on chronic illness care. From a consumer standpoint, I think choice only becomes an issue when existing care isn't satisfactory.LPBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12317816059809707252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186587935097536129.post-81098103237755428232009-02-19T07:01:00.000-06:002009-02-19T07:01:00.000-06:00We don't have a lot of those in HP yet because UCM...<I>We don't have a lot of those in HP yet because UCMC has been trying to take care of that niche for quite a while. If they stop doing so, the general practitioners will come.</I><BR/><BR/>Just like all the retailers and supermarkets. Just get the dead hand of the University out of the completely efficient medical market and competition in pediatric clinics will bloom on the South Side. That's why in a Lincoln Park zip code there are <B>EIGHT</B> pediatric clinics, and in 60615 there is <B>ONE</B>.<BR/><BR/>Is the 47th Street pediatrics group crowding out the competition from those extra 7 clinics that would otherwise be here? I don't think so.<BR/><BR/>There is a reason Mayo Clinic doesn't need to concern itself with general care. It's because Mayo Clinic is located in Rochester Minnesota.<BR/><BR/>Rochester, MN Population: approx. 100,000. Median household income: between $50-60K.<BR/><BR/>Hyde Park pop: less than half that. Median household income: between $27-38K.<BR/><BR/>Given these numbers, what makes anyone at the hospital think that pediatric clinics will rush in to a neighborhood that has to be helped to maintain a major supermarket, let alone other basic retail amenities?<BR/><BR/>As clumsy as it often is, University of Chicago administration does recognize that part of its overall strategic concerns involve making its immediate environs a convenient place to live for the middle class without whom Hyde Park would collapse. It needs to be involved in making things happen for the better.<BR/><BR/>The Hospital doesn't seem to share that sense of strategic necessity.chicago pophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17055796523227869734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186587935097536129.post-24302795192203215812009-02-19T02:19:00.000-06:002009-02-19T02:19:00.000-06:00It's strange there are no private practice interna...It's strange there are no private practice internal medicine/general practice physicians around here. The suburbs are full of them. We have dentists, optometrists and a "dermatalogy" (sic) office. Why no family doctors?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186587935097536129.post-20663835975872355282009-02-19T00:21:00.000-06:002009-02-19T00:21:00.000-06:00Something tells me that places like the Mayo Clini...Something tells me that places like the Mayo Clinic or Cleveland Clinic aren't doing a whole lot of the public outreach business either. UCMC is a top-20 institution <I>for specialties</I> just like they are. There are plenty of other neighborhoods in Chicago, not to mention peer cities to Chicago, that don't have huge hospitals. Their residents make do with small general care practices. We don't have a lot of those in HP <I>yet</I> because UCMC has been trying to take care of that niche for quite a while. If they stop doing so, the general practitioners will come. I'm all for clinics and preventative services but I am not convinced that having it all be run directly by UCMC is the best way to serve HP anyway.Jessihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10678000536476632149noreply@blogger.com