Very Premature Babies Don't Get Follo...(very low-birth-weight babies. The res...),Health

The researchers reviewed the medical records of 2,182 very low-birth-weight children born between 1996 and 1998. Among those with hearing loss, just 20 percent received hearing "rehabilitation" by the time they were 6 months old, as guidelines recommend. And only 23 percent received eye exams between 1 and 2 years of age, the study found.

The findings are published in the February issue of Pediatrics.

"People have suspected for a long time that very low-birth-weight infants weren't getting the care that they need," Wang said. "We show for the first time that there's a significant gap in providing needed services."

There are some caveats to the findings, Wang said: The study only looked at one state, and it's not clear whether parents or the medical system contribute to the problem.

Whatever the case, "we need to improve the coordination of care for kids with complex conditions," he said.

Some families, especially those with several children, can be overwhelmed by many different doctors' appointments in different places, Wang explained. "They need a support system," he said.

The findings seemed valid to Dr. Maureen Hack, a professor of pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, who believes the health-care system's lack of organization is to blame.

"It [the study] does express what is happening in this country with respect to indigent population," she said. "But I don't think it's just a problem with preemies. It's depressing."

Another study in the same issue of Pediatrics found other signs of disparities in health care based on race. Researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center reported that children in five minority groups were less likely than whites to have recently visited a doctor or been given medical prescriptions.

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