Editor’s Note: The following op-ed was submitted prior to Paul Ryan, speaker of the house, pulling the Republican healthcare plan, which was a replacement for Obamacare, on March 24. Even so, Thomas Derr, senior account executive, for Spryte Communications, which facilitates healthcare columns like this one, said in an email after the plan was pulled, “Bottom line: there is still a great deal of turmoil and uncertainty among payers, providers and patients – something that primary care physicians will have to deal with for the foreseeable future.”
Thursday, March 30, 2017, marks National Doctors Day – a day established to recognize physicians, their work and their contributions to society and the community.
On this National Doctors Day it is especially fitting that we take a moment to recognize the commitment and sacrifices that doctors make every day to ensure their patients receive the best care possible.
For many, the role of physicians in hospice is especially important – as they attend to patients and families at this most vulnerable time, guiding and comforting them through the toughest decisions they will ever make. What kind of quality of life does the patient want? What side effects can be expected from chemo or certain medications? What’s the best way to deal with pain? It’s a role that hospice doctors readily accept.
And in the coming months, many primary care physicians may find themselves in similar roles, as they are called upon to help their patients navigate issues of healthcare access, care and insurance as the debate over healthcare reform continues to simmer. For millions of people such decisions may become a life or death matter.
Since before the November election, there has been a growing and highly contentious debate over the future of healthcare and how pending decisions will impact healthcare providers, insurance companies and patients.
Needless to say, it is a controversial topic. The arguments on all sides have been vigorous and heated.
Repeal, Replace or Repair? Questions abound. Will the Affordable Care Act (ACA) be repealed? What will replace it?
How will the resulting changes impact people with preexisting conditions, or families too poor to pay for private health insurance?
Across the nation – as well as here in Ohio – doctors are following the discussions with great interest. In January, the New England Journal of Medicine published a national survey that found wide differences of opinion among physicians as to what the outcome of the healthcare reform debate should be.
In many ways, those differences of opinion reflect what the general public is thinking. That should come as no surprise. One common thread among both physicians and patients is that healthcare reform – whatever it ends up looking like – should be designed to achieve the best outcomes possible.
Patients often rely on their doctors to help make health-related decisions that affect healthcare costs, quality of care and outcomes.
Whatever happens, one thing is clear – doctors will continue doing what they do best, taking care of their patients, to the best of their ability.
On the Front Lines: It is doctors who are on the front lines, talking directly to patients and families, working to ensure people receive the care and treatment they need and want.
Public policy ebbs and flows. Insurance systems continue to evolve. Through it all, doctors continue to serve as the front line of defense for their patients. Most do so with patience and perseverance, and a ceaseless commitment to the welfare of their patients.
Hopefully policymakers will take a lesson from the physicians’ creed: “First do no harm.”
Dr. Rajan Lakhia is the Medical Director at Crossroads Hospice & Palliative Care.