| |
 |
Huntington, W.V. Herald-Dispatch: Insurers put stress on the physician-patient relationship
by Dr. Timothy Saxe
Anyone who has ever been to a doctor knows that over the course of time, there is a special bond -- an often critically important bond -- that develops between physician and patient. These direct, honest and sometimes life-altering relationships are under a great deal of stress these days from insurance providers.
Insurance providers are making health care decisions about patients they've never met, and they try to force physicians to prescribe treatments based solely on cost rather than on what is best for the patient.
I have seen this in my own practice. Individuals who have spent five years using a prescription medication that has been successful for them are suddenly forced to switch to another drug because the insurance provider has changed its formulary or decided the drug is no longer "preferred" for some reason. Rather than allowing a person to stick with a medicine that has worked, the insurance provider requires another drug.
The insurance providers will tell you that they do this to help reduce the burden of health care costs. But the real impact of these decisions is that health care costs are driven higher for nearly everyone -- except, of course, the insurance provider who is forcing the change.
Here's an example: Your mother is on a medication for Alzheimer's, and it means she's able to live on her own. But one day, her insurance provider has decided it doesn't want to pay for that medicine anymore. She is forced to switch to a new medicine that is not as effective, and now, she can't live alone anymore. Her family has to help, or find help for her; she can't cook her own meals, she can't manage her own medications, and eventually, she becomes sicker. Her health care costs begin to skyrocket, and the cost to her family cannot be measured in dollars.
These decisions are often made by bureaucrats, not doctors. Or by someone in a different field of medicine -- psychiatrists, for example, making decisions about medicines for cardiac patients. All of the time they are made by people who have not examined the patient. This is a frightening and dangerous practice.
Insurance providers should, at the very least, follow the same code as physicians: a code that dictates the patient's interests come before any interest in monetary gain.
Additionally, this practice makes it difficult for someone who is ill to have faith that he or she is being treated in the best possible way. For example, patients may second-guess whether the treatment they are being forced to accept is in their best interest or that of the insurance provider. They may also wonder if the physicians they trust with their lives are really in the driver's seat. If a patient doesn't have faith in a doctor's treatment plan, that plan is far less likely to work. And if it doesn't work, that means people get sicker and costs go up even more.
As the debate over health care reform takes center stage, there are things you as an individual can do to make your voice heard on this matter and help ensure that patients are getting the most appropriate treatments as prescribed by their doctors:
1) Visit the Insure Patient Access Web site at www.insurepatientaccess.org to learn more about these issues. Sign the petition in support of the National Health Insurer Code of Conduct which is being put together by the AMA. Your support will help to ensure that these issues will be addressed.
2) Write and/or call your elected officials to voice your support for the National Health Insurer Code of Conduct and for protecting the doctor-patient relationship from the restrictive practices of insurance providers.
I would like to thank Highland Hospital, the Arthritis Foundation of West Virginia and the West Virginia chapter of the MS Society for already signing on to the petition in support of the AMA's proposed code, and I encourage other groups and individuals to do the same today.
Dr. Timothy Saxe has more than 30 years experience in the medical field and practices internal medicine in Barboursville.
READ THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE
# # #
All News Items
August 26, 2010 - The Lund Report: The Best Care Possible: You're Worth It
June 14, 2010 - American Medical News: 10 things health insurers must do to regain trust; The AMA, with endorsement from 68 state and medical specialty societies, outlines steps health plans must take to be credible in the eyes of physicians and patients.
February 27, 2010 - Providence Journal: The creepy third person in doctor’s exam room
November 28, 2009 - Newport News Daily Press: MDs under attack
November 04, 2009 - The Hill: A code of conduct for health insurers
October 27, 2009 - WCBU-FM 89.9 (Peoria, Ill.) radio news
October 26, 2009 - WEEK (NBC - Peoria, Ill.): Developing a doctor-patient relationship
October 12, 2009 - Las Vegas Business Press: Here's a prescription: A health insurers code of ethics
September 09, 2009 - Maryland State Medical Society Resolution 14-09
August 29, 2009 - The Island Packet: AMA code puts doctors, patients in charge of care
August 28, 2009 - Baltimore Times: Group calls on health insurers
August 27, 2009 - Baltimore Times: Nursing Maryland back to health
August 20, 2009 - Lincoln Journal-Star: Pharmacists forced to serve insurers rather than patients
August 19, 2009 - WSTM-NBC3: Prescription medication battle heats up in Central New York
August 17, 2009 - New York State Senator Jeffrey D. Klein blog: For Health or Profit? Klein Unveils Sickly Scorecard of Major HMOs
August 17, 2009 - New York Daily News: Prescription Prescription drug coverage marred by bureaucracy, survey says
August 13, 2009 - Leading African American Groups Call On Health Insurers to Dismiss Restrictive Practices
August 13, 2009 - San Diego Union-Tribune: Bureaucracy won't contain costs
August 01, 2009 - Huntington, W.V. Herald-Dispatch: Insurers put stress on the physician-patient relationship
July 21, 2009 - Chicago Tribune: They authorized back surgery but denied his $148,000 claim
July 17, 2009 - American Osteopathic Association calls for Development of Code of Conduct
July 12, 2009 - Houston Chronicle: Another kind of remedy for the sick; Code of conduct would protect patients
July 07, 2009 - Washington Post: Health Reform: Who Holds the Reins on Care?
July 06, 2009 - NATIONAL HEALTH INSURER CODE OF CONDUCT HITS 1000 SIGNATURES OF SUPPORT
June 30, 2009 - Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Code of conduct needed for health insurers, too
June 24, 2009 - Penn. Pharmacists Association: “A Patient Walks Up to the Counter …”
June 24, 2009 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Broken bonds; The physician-patient relationship is being destroyed by the cost-driven decisions of health insurers
June 09, 2009 - Bellingham (Wash.) Herald: Time for a health insurance code of conduct
June 08, 2009 - Mississippi Business Journal: Transparency is the best medicine; Health Insurer Code of Conduct may improve the quality of care
June 03, 2009 - Frederick (Md.) News Post Op-Ed: Pharmacists pawns in health care's game of chess
June 01, 2009 - KUSI-TV interview with Dr. Jack Schim
May 25, 2009 - San Francisco Chronicle: Doctor pushes back against insurer scrutiny
May 08, 2009 - Fox News Health Blog: Bad Medicine: Is Your Insurance Company Hazardous to Your Health?
April 27, 2009 - Petition for Health Insurer Code of Conduct Garners Widespread National Support
April 20, 2009 - On-line petition launched in support of a national health insurer code of conduct
April 13, 2009 - Petition launched in support of a national health insurer code of conduct
April 09, 2009 - Westchester (N.Y.) Herald letters: Access to Quality Healthcare
April 01, 2009 - Los Angeles Society of Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology Applauds the AMA for Developing Health Insurer Code of Conduct
March 24, 2009 - Arizona Republic: Patient care, not financial gain, must take priority
March 22, 2009 - Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle: Health insurers should agree to a code of conduct
March 20, 2009 - Buffalo News: Code of conduct would protect patients from insurers
March 10, 2009 - AfPA Launches Petition in Support of a National Health Insurer Code of Conduct
March 09, 2009 - Texas Medical Society: Health Insurance Code of Conduct Act of 2009; The Time Has Come
March 09, 2009 - American Medical News: MSSNY president: Insurer settlements highlight need for code of conduct
February 01, 2009 - Colorado Medicine: Health Insurer Code of Conduct?
January 24, 2009 - Fresno Bee: Doctors push code of conduct for insurers
December 10, 2008 - Lupus Agencies of New York State Applaud AMA's Resolution to Develop a "Code of Conduct" for Health Insurers
December 09, 2008 - New York State Rheumatology Society Position Paper: AMA Resolution 823
November 20, 2008 - National Minority Quality Forum Applauds AMA's Health Insurer Code of Conduct
November 14, 2008 - Alliance for Patient Access Applauds AMA's Health Insurer Code of Conduct
November 13, 2008 - Alliance for Better Medicine Calls on California Health Insurers to Adopt a "Code of Conduct"
November 13, 2008 - Los Angeles County Medical Association Reinforces AMA's Call for a Health Insurer Code of Conduct
|
|
This website is a project of the Alliance for Patient Access.
 |
|
|
|
