Staff Editorial: Rx for Student Health

Horror stories about the Student Health Service at Penn abound. The long waits and poor service are legendary.

And unfortunately for students, the veracity of these stories is backed up by the numbers.

Last year, more than half of all walk-in patients waited more than 20 minutes before being seen. Almost 36 percent spent more than a half hour in the waiting room.

Recognizing the problem, Student Health has sought to cut waiting times. But its solution is wholly unacceptable.

Eliminating walk-in service is no way to eliminate the wait -- patients in need of emergency care or with the greatest need for speedy medical attention are not often the ones with advance appointments. Asking these students to call ahead to make sure that there will be a doctor available at some time is ridiculous -- these patients need to see a doctor as soon as possible.

Rather than creating a call-ahead appoint scheme, Student Health needs to recognize the real problem -- that the service is woefully understaffed.

In an average year, students make 40,000 trips to Student Health, but the office employees only 12 doctors.

That means that, with 13,000 patients every year, Student Health employs approximately one doctor for every 1,000 students.

Sickness can occur suddenly, and sometimes seriously. Students relying on the Student Health Service need to know that they can go to the service's office and be seen by a doctor. In an emergency, calling ahead is not an option.

The University needs to ensure that Student Health has enough practicing physicians to handle the enormous patient load. To be sure, the waiting time needs to be cut, but eliminating a vital service is not the way to do it.

Hiring more doctors is.

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