Too many doctors and dentists refuse to treat mentally retarded patients or fail to understand their medical needs, Surgeon General David Satcher said Thursday.
Satcher called on medical schools to better train doctors about the care of the mentally retarded.
"People with mental retardation are stigmatized," Satcher said. "Sometimes they are stigmatized by the professionals charged to serve them. This stigma is real, it is painful, it is pervasive and it is unfair."
Satcher called for more government studies to assess the severity of the problem but said this report discloses a major weakness in the health system in this country.
He said part of the problem was weaknesses in the Medicaid health program for the poor. Children with mental retardation are nearly three times more likely than other children to rely on public health programs, he said.
Satcher brought together doctors, social service providers and mentally disabled people and their families for a two-day conference on disparities in the health care system.
He said a surgeon general's conference report would be issued soon, with more recommendations.
At a news conference, marathon runner Loretta Claiborne told how doctors had often failed to take her medical complaints seriously.
Claiborne, who has finished more than 26 marathons, said as a child she walked awkwardly and saw many doctors who offered no hope until one doctor paid for X-rays that discovered she needed foot surgery.
"If it wasn't for that doctor I would probably be still at home, walking awkwardly," she said.
She also explained that she suffered two tumors that were initially overlooked by doctors until she pressed for more tests.
"I still today have to fight not only for me, but many, many people like me," said Claiborne, 48.
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