David O’Malley, Professor and Division Director of Gynecologic Oncology, Co-Director, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, shared a post by OncoDaily on LinkedIn, adding:
“Worth a read, Words are important, describes what we should all strive….
‘The words physician and provider are not interchangeable. Provider undermines the physician’s ethical obligations, clinical integrity, and accountability, as well as trust in the patient–physician relationship. The term should not be used to describe physicians, nor should physicians use it to describe themselves, their team members, or their trainees.
Patients still want trusted, compassionate relationships and care by humanistic physicians who exercise independent clinical judgment and profess to heal when possible and to comfort always. Physicians should strive to fulfill these expectations, and language should recognize and support their individual and collective ethical responsibilities to serve patients.’ ”
Drew Moghanaki: The Ethical Dangers of Mistaking Physicians with ‘Providers’ 