The Health Planning Council of Northeast Florida (HPCNF) has notified patients of the Daytona Beach area's only certified HIV doctor that they will have to get another physician by April 1 in order for their care to continue being supported by Ryan White funds.
Dr. Daniel Warner, a local practitioner for 15 years, put the decision down to his comprehensive treatment of patients.
"Basically, they were trying to limit what I'm allowed to do and what they are going to reimburse me for," said Warner. Warner said that last year he began having more trouble getting reimbursed for services. Across Florida, only 129 physicians are certified by the American Academy of HIV Medicine.
"This is not about money," said Dawn Emerick, HPCNF's executive director. "No client of Dr. Warner's will go without medical care." Qualifying expenses are all outlined in a manual and uniformly applied, she said. The decision to drop Warner is part of a larger plan to create a "seamless, unified access system," Emerick said.
Randy Margrave, a pharmacist at Holly Hill Pharmacy, warned that the Ryan White program will end up paying more if patients cannot access Warner's services.
"HIV medicines cost $2,000 a month and if [the HIV strain is] resistant to the drugs, you are wasting $2,000 a month," said Margrave, who called Warner one of the country's best. "It's going to cost the patient quality of life and Ryan White [programs] more money."
03/12/10
FLORIDA: AIDS Service Network Drops HIV Doctor
Source: Daytona Beach News-Journal:: Anne Geggis; Courtesy of the CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention