Safety Net System: A Case Study of Primary and Specialty Care for

The purpose of this study is to analyze data from Cobb County safety net facilities to determine primary and specialty care accessibility for low-income patients as evidenced by the availability of resources, affordability of services, accountability of quality care, and policies for the uninsured. The study provides insight for assessing the circumstances in Cobb County and supplies information on services that may need evaluation and expansion. Data for safety net facilities were obtained through interviews with a questionnaire that consisted of 13 dichotomous questions, 10 closed-ended questions and 2 open-ended questions. All the executive administrative staff or chief executive officers from safety net facilities in Cobb County participated in the survey. First, the accessibility of providers and limited hours of operations compared to the number of uninsured residents in Cobb County is very small. This means an excessive number of patients are forced to visit the emergency room departments, eve