Physicians are our patients’ biggest allies. Our commitment to connecting and caring for patients pushed us through medical school, which didn’t come cheap. Yet, today, our core mission is disrupted by the ever-present demands of paperwork and regulatory metrics.
When I retired from family medicine in 2013, the bureaucracy had long since begun. But I recall a time when general practitioners were pillars of their communities, the glue that held them together. They were well compensated for their work – not always in money – and the ties between physicians and patients (and extending to patients’ families) were unbreakable.
I’ve watched that ideal change over the years, despite efforts to the contrary. While private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act have expanded access for previously marginalized populations, each patient encounter – indeed, every second of the working day – has been reduced to items on a ledger sheet. This monetization of patient care interferes with the critical physician-patient bond, particularly for family doctors.
A good part of the dissatisfaction – both from the physician and the patient standpoint – stems from this issue. That’s why I applaud the Arkansas Medical Society – where I’m a 48-year member – for its recent launching of the Your Care is at Our Core campaign. The campaign, consisting of repeated social media posts, editorials like this one, and other means, is happening in partnership with the American Medical Association and is meant to strengthen the bond between patients and their physicians…