1 doctor for 18,000 patients

Where is this? Right here at home. More on the military health system:

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.

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