An Interview with Dr. Anmol Mahal
By: Ashok Vaish

Dr. Anmol Mahal is at the head of a team of Indian physicians who are volunteering their time to provide an invaluable community service. They are serving at the Free Medical Clinic at the India Community Center.

I had a free ranging interview with Dr. Anmol Mahal covering a variety of topics relating to the Medical Clinic and his vision for the community and the future of health care.

Here are some excerpts:

Dr. Mahal, give me an example of someone the Clinic has helped.

Last week, just as we were about to close, an elderly couple stopped by along with their son and grandson. The gentleman was a physician himself visiting from India. His wife was unwell and suffering generally. We examined her  and we diagnosed her as suffering from Depression and we prescribed her an antidepressant. She was quite overwhelmed with our service and bowed down with gratitude almost down to my knees. I was embarrassed, as she was an elderly lady, and will always remember touching her heart.

How many people are you currently treating?

We are open two days a week - Wednesday and Saturday - and see 8- 12 patients each day. Eventually, as our existence becomes more widely known and we get our full complement of volunteers, we hope to be open all the time and help many more people from the community at large. It's a good start.

Do you serve only the uninsured?

Yes, basically. If you are eligible for Medical or Medicare we send you to a private physician. However, the uninsured include quite a large number of people  and the vast majority of Indians visiting. Some are on Green Cards. Did you know that with a Green Card you are still not eligible for medicare/medical for 5 years, and even after 5 years pre-existing conditions may not be covered? In California 7.5 million people are uninsured and millions others are under-covered!

How do you publicize your presence?

Mainly through the ICC publicity campaign and through their website. We place flyers at places of worship, such as temples, churches and gurudwaras and at community clinics. In the future, as we have more funds, we will take out ads in local papers, such as the ethnic Indian papers.

What kind of care do you provide now and what do you wish to add in the future?

We provide primary adult care. In the future we see a need for some specialty care such as Pedriatics, Cardiology, Back Care, Headache care and skin care etc. We will also provide services for the non-sick such as cholestrol screening, vaccinations.    

(Picture on Right -> Dr. Jayashree Joshi at the Free Clinic)

What do you think needs to be done to reform health care in the U.S. and who do you support for President?

 I support Barack Obama, specially after the second Presidential debate. I think he stated it quite eloquently: "In a country as rich as ours health care has to be a fundamental right of every citizen."

Thank You, Dr. Mahal. We congratulate you on building  a tremendous resource here at the Indian Community Center. Please keep up the good work.

 Thank You, Ashok!