Whelp, the shoe has dropped, friends. The 🚨 has gone off.
I have been waiting for decades to see “grateful patient programming” interrogated.
Thanks Melissa DeClue, M.Ed for bringing this to my attention. A ⚠️ from the article:
“Physicians should not be asked to solicit their patients during fundraising efforts and fundraising should never be a condition of employment for physicians.”
Oof. The shoulds. And nevers. 😳 I will say this—
The article makes solid points. 🙏🏼 There are some clear gaps though, especially around the role of the physician in these efforts:
1) Grateful patient language has always been presumptuous and assumed the hospital / health system was delivering the QUALITY of care that would make one grateful. If your patient satisfaction scores are low or patients are NOT getting better, is it fair to assume they’d be grateful? #thatsonus #wordsmatter
2) There is SCIENTIFIC research that generosity helps patients and families heal (grieve + recover). People WILL innately want to give back. If we do this work right a physician would never have to “ask” or compromise their relationship with their patient. We surely don’t have to mine lists or edge up against HIPAA. We can be a good steward of the physician relationship and create doorways in if the patient or family desires. #thatsondocsandfundraisers #gratitudeheals
3) Yes, concierge programs and bedside visits from fundraisers should (and now I am joining the shoulds) also be examined. It’s wild to me that we ever thought fundraiser visits were a good thing. Is it extra love? Or is it slimey? That said, to my fellow health care activists, this fee for service / VIP clinical care model is absolutely here to stay. It’s sadly a byproduct of a broken, profit first health care system. This is THE fight and providers need to stand for more time, less patients, and greater equity. #thatsonthesystem
I could go on. The thing that strikes me the most is this plea to other doctors —
"We don't want them to feel that they are alone in this and that the largest specialty organization of physicians in the country is totally behind them," he added. "[ACP] is encouraging them to preserve that patient-physician relationship, despite potential pressures from administrators and corporate executives and the like."
The preservation of the patient-physician relationship DEMANDS attention now and that’s not because of GP programs (which again, I am also critical). This relationship has long been strained given the birth of the medical industrial complex. Medicine has lost its way. It’s pressure points are here. I’d like to see the ACP stand for that. So YES, back to the point at hand-
It’s on fundraising to reimagine better philanthropic pathways for patients and their families. And it’s on providers to fight for their health and the health of this nation. I know the former will surely happen…will the latter? #authenticask
https://lnkd.in/gmkvSHGa
Telehealth & Practice Program Manager | American Academy of Neurology
1moThank you for your continued support of community-based nonprofits!