Should You Celebrate Safety Net Clinic Week? The Answer is Probably Yes!
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Is My Clinic A Safety Net Clinic? The answer may not be obvious. If you have ever wondered if your clinic is a safety net clinic, the following survey may help you answer that question.
First, does your clinic provide preventive and primary health care services or chronic disease management?
Yes / No
If you answered yes to the question above, please read each statement below and determine if the statement is true.
- My clinic is a federally certified Rural Health Clinic (RHC).
- My clinic is located in a health professional shortage or medically underserved area.
- My clinic offers free or discounted services on a sliding fee scale or as a flat fee.
- My clinic sees uninsured patients regardless of their ability to pay.
- My clinic accepts Medicaid, Child Health Plan (CHP), and/or Tri-Care.
- My clinic participates in the Colorado Indigent Care Program (CICP).
- My clinic does not accept reimbursements from third-party payers.
- My clinic utilizes volunteer clinicians.
- My clinic is eligible for FTCA medical malpractice liability protection.
- My clinic receives Primary Care Fund dollars.
- My clinic receives grants, contributions and/or donations.
- My clinic is part of a Family or Internal Medicine Residency Program.
- My clinic provides translation services for non-English speaking patients.
- My clinic receives Section 330 funding (under the Public Health Services Act).
- My clinic provides Indian Health Services.
- My clinic receives funding under Title X.
If your clinic provides health care services and the answer to one or more of the options above is yes, then congratulations, your clinic is a safety net clinic! Therefore, the Colorado Rural Health Center and ClinicNET encourage you to consider celebrating Safety Net Clinic Week August 20th through 24th, 2012. SNCW is a week dedicated to raising awareness of all the various types of clinics with a commitment to serving patients who might otherwise have difficulty getting medical care.
Why is it important to celebrate Safety Net Clinic Week? Because while safety net clinics have some similarities, they also look very different from one another and it is important to know where, why and how health care is currently being delivered. When it comes time for the federal, state, or even local government to make decisions regarding provider reimbursements, tobacco tax funds, Medicare or Medicaid payments, public coverage program eligibility, electronic health records (EHR) incentives, or other important policy choices, the people making those decisions need to understand how they affect safety net clinics like yours.
