Bedlam Community Health Clinic: a collaborative interdisciplinary health care service for the medically indigent.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a collaborative interdisciplinary health care service delivery system for the medically indigent in the Tulsa and northeastern Oklahoma area independent of state or federal funding.

SETTING: Northeastern Oklahoma and Tulsa.

PRACTICE DESCRIPTION: Community and ambulatory care for indigent patients.

PRACTICE INNOVATION: Bedlam Community Health Clinic (BCHC), which opened in August 2003, provides services to patients through partnerships among the health care disciplines of the University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy, Nursing, and Medicine; is staffed by community physicians and pharmacists who volunteer their time and expertise; and is funded by the local community.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Experiences and patients served.

RESULTS: BCHC is a collaborative interdisciplinary clinic that addresses the needs of the medically indigent in Tulsa and northeastern Oklahoma. Conceived, developed, and funded by the local community, it does not depend on state or federal funding. A variety of services, both general medicine and specialty, are provided through BCHC. Since its opening in August 2003, the clinic has provided hands-on training for students from a variety of health care disciplines. The pharmacist-patient encounters provide helpful, meaningful drug information. The participation of volunteer pharmacists enables medically underserved or indigent patients to access pharmaceutical care and addresses the diverse health care needs of this often overlooked population.

CONCLUSION: Health professionals and students in the Tulsa area have created an innovative mechanism for serving indigent patients who otherwise would lack adequate health care services.