THE USE OF ARIZONA PHYSICIAN SERVICES BY RESIDENTS OF MEXICO

Arizona physicians practicing in the four counties bordering Mexico we re surveyed regarding the use of their services by residents of Mexico . One hundred eighty-eight (79%) of the 239 respondents to the mail su rvey reported seeing at least one Mexican resident per week during 198 8. Ninety-nine of these physicians (53%) practiced in Tucson; 89 (47%) practiced elsewhere in the four border counties. The mean number of M exican resident patients seen per week was nine (9% of total) for bord er physicians and 5 (6% of total)for Tucson physicians. The most frequ ent responses from border physicians asked to list the most common hea lth conditions of their Mexican resident patients were injury and pois oning (21%) and circulatory diseases (11%), while the most frequent re sponses of Tucson physicians were circulatory diseases (10%) and diges tive diseases (9%). Problems and solutions in the border care health s ystem are mainly related to quality of care and health care financing.