Penn's Student Health Services are "middle of the pack" compared to other colleges and universities nationwide, according to a recent report published in The Wall Street Journal. Some, however, have expressed doubt over the validity of that label.
The article, which described deficiencies in health facilities offered on college campuses, notes Penn's "good range of physicians and nurse practitioners" and its late hours of operation, but also refers to its "shortage of exam rooms that can mean long waits for students" and its lack of a lab and X-ray machine.
According to University Health System officials, the report lacks credibility due to its informal nature and unspecified criteria.
It "is not a example of responsible journalism," according to Student Health Services Director Evelyn Wiener.
"The reporter approached different schools trying to get a sense of what types of services are available in different health systems," Wiener said. "She then tried to come up with some type of rating, and nobody in health can figure out how she came up with those criteria."
Penn shared its mediocre ranking with schools such as the University of California at Berkeley, the Claremont University Consortium in southern California and Grinnell College in Iowa.
"By virtue of having a hospital across the street, we have access to high level and high quality specialists and resources," Wiener said. "We do not have to bear the overhead of having the services here on-site."
Health administrators at other universities echoed Wiener's concerns about the evaluation.
"I don't know why she put Penn in the middle class and not the higher class," said Harvard University Student Health Services Director David Rosenthal.
"Penn has an excellent health service," said Columbia University's Executive Director of Health Services Margo Amgott.
"It wasn't a committee, it was her individual judgement," Rosenthal said. "It is not like a U.S. News & World Report top 50 student health systems. This was sort of her estimate."
Harvard, along with Columbia, the University of Southern California and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were rated as being "most impressive." Drew University in New Jersey, Oberlin College in Ohio, Sarah Lawrence College in New York and the State University of New York at Binghamton were ranked "less impressive."
"I think all the health services she talked to are excellent health services," Amgott said. "I am proud she liked what we have here, but I don't think we are substantially different from other fine health services."
Wiener emphasized that student health systems function differently from school to school.
"It seems as though she was talking about the scope of services available," Wiener said. "Every health service operates differently based on the institution and what the institution needs."
According to Wiener, some variables include payment methods, insurance requirements, proximity to hospitals, mental health services and the degree of health education and promotions available through other groups within the institution.
"All schools are going to be different," Wiener said. "What is appropriate for one institution may not be appropriate for others."
With the proximity of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Student Health Services does not need to maintain all facilities within itself, she added.
"Because we are affiliated with the hospital and because the hospital has resources, we don't need to have an X-ray unit in Student Health, and we don't need to have a full lab," Wiener said. "We don't need to make all of those arrangements with superb facilities in such a close proximity."
Although Wiener disagrees with some of the report's conclusions, she asserted that there is "always room for improvement."
"I will be the first one to say, and would be accompanied by widespread agreement, that our physical space is not adequate," Wiener said. "The impact is that we are not as efficient in getting people through here. There is a limit to how many patients we can see in a given time."
Wiener said an expanded physical layout would aid in the efficiency of patient care. Wiener claims, however, that "our patient satisfaction surveys say we are doing well."
"If somebody's experience here has not been good, I do want to hear about it. I cannot effect change unless I hear where there are problems," Wiener said. "How do we measure up? I think we do great."
