Access to health care Published Aug. 11, 2010 By Staff Sgt. Jason F. Alexander 4th Medical Operations Squadron SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- During the past several months there has been a shortage of health care providers available to meet the demands of our military health care beneficiaries at the Family Medicine Clinic. One of the most common concerns from our patients is an inability to see their doctor in a timely manner. Unfortunately, the current shortage has resulted in a significant decline in access to care. Our patients are often required to go to the emergency room or urgent care clinic due to a lack of appointments. We understand your concerns and that health care delayed can mean health care denied. The 4th Medical Group is working hard to facilitate access to care. We are putting tremendous effort and resources toward increasing available appointments in order to meet your health care needs in a reasonable amount of time. As a result, we recently added two health care providers to our staff and have two more health care providers projected to arrive in the coming months. This will significantly increase the number of available appointments and alleviate some frustrations with scheduling an appointment to see your health care provider. We take great pride in providing the best possible health care services to you and your family. We will continue to make every effort to provide timely access to quality health care while maintaining the capability to support military contingency operations worldwide.