By Don R. Read, MD
President
My colleagues and I are committed to caring for the people of Texas. This is what we have trained for and have wholeheartedly dedicated ourselves to – it is our passion. Every minute we spend with a patient results in improving health, healing a wound, providing comfort, or in some cases, saving a life. These are minutes that matter. At the heart of every decision we make are people – our patients. It’s an honor and a privilege to be invited into their lives.
I see all types of patients – young and old, rich and poor, of all races and religions. But the time I spend with them is under increasing pressure. Today, physicians spend almost twice as much time completing forms and administrative tasks as we do seeing patients, according to a 2016 study from the Annals of Internal Medicine. Growing state and federal government regulations and insurance company mandates directly impact the practice of medicine. Many of you reading this – whether physician or patient – have experienced this frustration first-hand. Doctors, too, are left frustrated and with our hands tied as we try to adhere to new compliance models, many of which were designed by people who have never set foot in an exam room. Most of them have the unintended impact of reducing the time we can spend with our patients.
This shift is directly affecting the level of care we can provide to our patients. The Physicians Foundation recently found that 79 percent of doctors believe that external factors are affecting the quality of care patients are receiving. Outside interference like electronic health records, narrowing of insurance networks, and Medicaid’s endless paperwork are just a few of the outside forces that are eroding patient care. I see a very real risk of a practice focused on the computer versus the patient, of physicians typing and clicking instead of listening and observing – fostering the essence of the critical patient-physician relationship.
While many of these new regulations came with good intentions, they also came without the insights and lessons learned by those of us who examine patients and work in operating rooms every day. Every time I look into a patient’s eyes, I am reminded that process, paperwork, and politics should never come before or between the time I spend with patients.
What Can You Do?
Decisions – in Austin or in Washington – that affect the lives of Texans cannot be made in a vacuum. Medical expertise must inform medical decisions of any kind to prevent known and unexpected consequences.
In the about-to-begin 2017 Texas legislative session, lawmakers will make thousands of choices. Some of those decisions will directly shape the future of Texas health care, how and who offers that care to patients, and how various entities play a role within the health care system.
The Texas Medical Association, with more than 50,000 members, represents all Texas physicians. We stand ready to provide advice and counsel, as the health of all Texans hangs in the balance.
We urge you to stand with us and our patients – fellow Texans – to put patients first. Whether you are a physician or patient, you have a voice. You can:
- Preview medicine’s legislative agenda – there’s likely an issue that impacts you!
- Find out who represents you in Congress and the Texas Legislature.
- Call the TMA Knowledge Center at (800) 880-7955 with any questions you may have.
- Click an icon above to share this post on your favorite social media channel.