Paul Goldfinger, MD, FACC. Editor Blogfinger.net
I have been alarmed by the way that doctors are being shoved to the side by corporate efficiency experts who want to substitute “mid-level” healthcare providers for physicians so as to reduce the cost of services. I have seen such providers impersonating doctors by giving patients the impression that they are the same as doctors. And hospitals and office practices are complicit in this sort of deception.
Below is a message from the AMA which has finally begun to address this issue. And I plan to offer input as well, as I have done in the past.
I have learned a new term today: “scope of practice.” It is not a new issue to me, but now we have a name for this concept which focuses us all, doctors and patients, on a problem that seriously impacts quality care and is getting out of hand.
The AMA Morning Rounds are being delivered to me again, and I plan to share with you. Click on the link below and scroll down to the video. There also is an audio version there. You can skip the rest of it–these “rounds” are intended for doctors, but patients need to pay attention to healthcare infrastructure and to the “care” which you and your loved ones are receiving.