The Effect of a Public Hospital's Transfer Policy on Patient Care

To the Editor: Reed et al. delineate the beneficial effect of their brainchild, the Parkland Memorial Hospital's transfer policy, out of which grew the Texas “anti-dumping” law (Nov. 27 issue).* Certainly, indigent patients in Dallas County and elsewhere in Texas, as well as health care workers in public hospitals, have reason to be thankful for the improvement of emergency medical care that results from these laudable efforts. Reed et al. clearly point out that the financial crisis in medical care for the poor is caused by the fact that a substantial part of the working population does not buy health.