Thursday, May 05, 2016



"Provider" is a bad word

This Viewpoint discusses issues related to the use of “provider” to describe primary care health professionals with varying levels of training and certification and the effects of these issues on quality of care.

The term “provider” first appeared in the modern health care lexicon as a shorthand referring to delivery entities such as group practices, hospitals, and networks. More recently, its use has expanded to encompass physicians, nurse practitioners (NPs), physician assistants (PAs), and perhaps others, especially those engaged in delivery of primary care.

On one level, this expansion is both logical and convenient, as it reflects the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to modern primary care delivery, extending beyond the traditional dyad of patient and physician.

Being designated as a “primary care provider” also denotes qualifying for payment of services rendered, a designation long sought and highly valued by advanced-practice nurses and PAs.3

Although useful in these contexts, the term “provider” has the potential for adverse consequences for primary care, calling into question the wisdom of its expanded use.

SOURCE 

This appeared in a medical journal.  The rationale is that the term leads to confusion.  If both doctors and nurses are "providers", you might mistake a nurse for a doctor.  One would think such mistakes would be rapidly corrected but the writer seems to think not.


8 comments:

Bird of Paradise said...

Whining Liberal should become a new phrase to stand for someone who is always whining about something they find offensive to their delicate eyes and ears many can be found on collage campuses

Anonymous said...

What a load of leftist crap. Only a moron would confuse a nurse with a doctor and that confusion would be short lived. More political correctness for the sake of political correctness. This insanity has to stop sometime, now would be a good start. I am sick to death of these morons that can't rub two neurons together to create a coherent thought and the idiot editors that let them get away with it because they are to scared to do anything about it.

Anonymous said...

Physicians have seen their earning power continually reduced by less expensive Nurse Practitioners and PA's who are trained and targeted at the primary care segment. A physician has more and more expensive training than an NP and should be compensated for it IF they are doing more complex diagnosis and care. That is the rub because most physicians believe they should be paid more than NP's for treating the same easily diagnosed and treated colds, strains, and discomforts most common in primary care. They use the Trojan horse of "patient confusion" or "substandard care" rather than cede the primary care market to NP's and their own PA's (whom they control because physicians assistants have to have a physician sign off on their care orders)and specialize on the more complex diagnosis passed to them by primary care. This is one of the issues that must be resolved to reduce and improve health care.


MDH

Use the Name, Luke said...

What a load of leftist crap. Only a moron would confuse a nurse with a doctor and that confusion would be short lived.

False equivalency is the coin of the realm for the left. After all, no one could get confused over obvious differences such as male and female, could they?

Birdzilla said...

Waah,waah,waah certian words must not be used becuase whining little liberals might be offended They need to grow up and climb out of their playpen Foo Fee Bears getting tired of their whining

Anonymous said...

Anon 2:16 and Use the Name Luke,

You are actually making the point of the article for the writer. You both seem to think that there is a difference in the terms used to designate a medical professional but the trend is to label everyone under the umbrella of "provider."

Doctors, nurses, interns, etc are all being called "providers" as opposed to the label which denotes the level of training and skill.

Instead of being a "load of leftist crap," the guy is making a point with which you seem to agree.

Spurwing Plover the fighting shorebird said...

Speech codes enforced by brownshirts who drag off anyone who uses certian words consieted offensive to whining little snowflakes

Alpha Skua said...

If someones offended by the National Antheme they their free to leave any time just don't bother coming back