misdiagnoses

Negligence, Underfunding Destroying Federal Healthcare Plan For Native Americans

Liz DeRouen, 49, left, gets her blood pressure checked by medical assistant Jacklyn Stra, right, at the Sonoma County Indian Health Project in Santa Rosa, Calif. (AP/Eric Risberg)
MINNEAPOLIS — The Indian Health Service (IHS), the federal service legally responsible for providing medical care to approximately 2.2. million tribal members is under scrutiny for failing to meet minimum national standards for medical facilities and repeatedly endangering patients by turning away the gravely ill and causing unnecessary deaths.